James Ussher Library in Trinity College, Dublin
Founded in 1592, Trinity College, Dublin, is the oldest and most renowned university in Ireland. It is situated in a park in the city centre and possesses a number of libraries, the most famous of which is the Old Library, dating from 1732, where the Book of Kells is on display. The Berkeley and the Lecky Libraries were added in the 1960s and 70s. A competition was held in 1998 to link these structures with a new library named after Archbishop James Ussher. To confine the control functions to a single point and to separate the streams of tourists from the students, access to the new building is via the Berkeley Library. The architects created an extensive plinth structure and set three granite-clad volumes on top: a low book-conservation block; a six-storey book-storage tower; and a lower building housing the reading places. Viewed from the street, the library has a closed, sculptural appearance, with narrow window slits. On the park face, where the reading desks are situated, the facade is more open. The entrance is set one storey above the level of the park. Visitors have to make their way through the Berkeley Library before descending to the new orientation space, which is illuminated through a large glazed pyramid. The bookshelf area is separated from the reading places by an eight-storey atrium. The dominant features here are the walnut bookshelves and furnishings and the red carpeting.
