Lovely (nearly)library of the day

I can imagine that this one might be a bit of a divisive choice. It’s the design for the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Immediately panned online as an eyesore, a protazoa, puke; it’s a uniquely challenging design . But what appeals to me about it is precisely that. It’s a unique, fun design redefines a library space as a modern innovative environment. I mean, how many kids are going to not want to go into that building?

Libraries (excuse me for getting a little evangelical here) are for the people. They shouldn’t just be pristine pieces of architecture (although there are some gorgeous ones which are!) or about eking a bit of space out of the town hall and flinging some shelves at it. They deserve to be exciting focal points for the community. They deserve to be talked about. And if making one look like a starfish (I can’t get the image of Starro from the JLA out of my head when I look at it) is what it takes, then by all means go ahead.

I want libraries to live.

(all images from the article available here)