Modernism – Thomas Guignard photography

A spacious, modern library interior with tall bookshelves, tables and chairs arranged for study, a mezzanine level with glass railings, and a ceiling with exposed white beams and large windows letting in natural light.

BCU Internef et Bibliothèque Edouard Fleuret

This 1978 library contains a special collection founded by Lausanne's own Sherlock Holmes.

A library interior with bookshelves filled with books, tables and wooden chairs arranged for reading or studying, large windows letting in natural light, and a gray sofa with orange pillows.

Bibliothek der Graphischen, Wien

The print shop of this design school and research institute in Vienna is now a bright library.

Interior of a multi-story library with open, tiered floors. Visible are several levels with bookshelves, study areas, and seating. A glass elevator is in motion in the background.

Toronto Reference Library

At the centre of North America's busiest public library system, the Toronto Reference Library is one of the city's most prized cultural assets.

Large, modern library interior with tall white columns, rows of bookshelves filled with books, high ceilings, and large windows letting in natural light. Several people are sitting and reading or browsing books.

Töölö Library, Helsinki

A nice example of Finnish modernism, this library was originally part of a larger urban project by architect Aarne Ervi.

Bibliothèque du Jardin botanique de Genève

The home of one of the world's foremost botanical collections, this library is also a landmark of Swiss modernist architecture.

A two-story modern building with large windows and a gray roof, surrounded by landscaped gardens and bushes. The text "l'ISDC" is written on the building.

Bibliothèque de l’Institut Suisse de Droit Comparé

A modest pavillon on the university of Lausanne campus hosts a renowned law collection.

Exterior of a Modernist university campus showing a four-story rectangular building with a facade of alternating bands of windows and green metal panels. The building is topped with a two-story structure covered with a concrete openwork screen. The same screen is repeated in front of a low building to the right of the main structure, and on either side of its porte cochère, on which the words "Faculté de médecine" can be read. The word "Bibliothèque" is stencilled one letter at a time on the top windows. Students are show exiting the building on a paved plaza in front.

Bibliothèque de santé, Université de Strasbourg

The campus of the Strasbourg faculty of medicine signalled the postwar renaissance of a storied institution.

A courtyard with a large, three-story industrial-style building in the background with a facade of brick and glazing. The courtyard is paved with concrete tiles, and a blue, tube-like structure is placed in the centre. The sky is clear and sunny.

Tweebronnen Library, Leuven

The transformation of this former technical school by one of the early masters of Modernism questions the balance between preservation and reuse.

Lakehead University Library

On an eclectic northern campus, this library was built for growth.

Exterior of a modernist tower surrounded by lower buildings with an arched portico.

Caltech Hall (Millikan Library)

Rising above the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, this library once named for a problematic figure is now dedicated to the college community as a whole.

Interior of a modern university library with rows of wooden shelves surrounded by a mezzanine on which more shelves can be seen. To the left is the blurry figure of a person in motion.

MMLL Library, Cambridge

The Raised Faculty Building at the University of Cambridge's Sidgwick Site offers a glimpse of a modern campus that never was.

Wide-angle exterior shot of a Modernist office block on stilts. A person is walking underneath, next to a sign reading "HEAD Genève".

Swiss industrial history, morally dubious wartime economics, a revolutionary sewing machine and a prime example of Modernism all converge in the new location of the library for the Geneva school of art and design (HEAD).