The Black Diamond, Copenhagen Denmark

Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen designed this addition for the Copenhagen Royal Library in 1999. It contains a library, concert hall, bookshop, café, exhibition space, and a restaurant.

Two impervious black cubes boldly jut over the street with a white, wavy atrium between them. Skybridges connect the new building to the historic library. The glass and steel material with black granite exterior is an interesting choice for this medieval setting. A geological architecture tells little of humanistic literature, this is very uncharacteristic for historic libraries. Yet smaller-scale organic forms can be found inside.

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(achimh
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(simonsimages
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(chad_k
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(chad_k
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(zoned.dk
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(superbez
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(Kieran Lynam
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(achimh
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(featured image by Thue on wikipedia)