Regional Library of Saxony - State and university libraries in Dresden

By merging the regional, state and university collections in Saxony, a new library of European rank has been created. To achieve an optimum integration of the new buildings in the landscaped area of the former playing fields, the reading room was buried beneath the ground between two linear tracts. The facades of these two structures are clad with Thuringian travertine. Irregular vertical grooves in the face of the stone slabs suggest the spines of books on the shelves of traditional libraries, or the bar codes that are used as a form of information storage. With narrow silicone-sealed joints, the cladding creates a monolithic appearance that is unusual for a conventionally built curtain-wall facade.