Modernism

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".

Bibliothèque 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).
Interior of a modernist library reading room with a large window to the right opening to a park with trees. To the left is a long bookcase, with globe lights above it. The room is filled with tables topped with work lights.

Biblioteca cantonale di Lugano

Situated in an idyllic lakeside park, this Neues Bauen masterpiece completed in 1942 launched Ticino's architecture towards modernity.
Exterior of a modernist brick and glass library. Two persons are walking in front of it.

Seeley Historical Library, Cambridge

Plagued by environmental issues and a controversial name, the library of the Cambridge history faculty is indissociable from the evolution of Modernism in the UK.
Interior of a contemporary library. It is a symmetrical room surrounded by a mezzanine and with large work tables in the middle. A person is standing at the back.

Bibliothèque du Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Montréal

Combining modern elements with a respect for classical proportions, the design of the Canadian Centre for Architecture reflects its mission as an universal archive of the art.
Interior of a modern library, with a gently curving ceiling and a large window at the back.

Finsbury Library, London

The reorganization of the London boroughs robbed this library of its ambition as a cultural centre but gifted inhabitants of the nearby housing estates with a spacious library.
Exterior of a modern brick industrial complex.

London Metropolitan Archives

A former print shop in Clerkenwell is now used as the archives of the Corporation of London.
Interior of a modern library with a mezzanine in the centre and light wells illuminating the periphery.

Baubibliothek ETH Zürich

The ETH Zürich's architecture library on the Hönggerberg is a mecca for architecture lovers in Switzerland and abroad.
Exterior of a 1930s post office transformed into a library. It is a four-story structure with a hipped roof and a square clock tower. The words "pestalozzi bibliothek" are written in red script on the main facade. There is a street with tram tracks in front and people milling about.

Pestalozzi-Bibliothek Oerlikon

At the heart of a bustling transit hub, the early modern Oerlikon post office now serves as a location for the Zürich public library.
Exterior of a Brutalist library with a facade of large textured concrete panels between which are narrow vertical slit windows.

Killam Memorial Library, Dalhousie University

Dalhousie university's Killam library is a monolith of knowledge built to inspire stability at a time of rapid change.
Exterior of a brick modernist library, a symmetrical rectangular building with a bay of concrete-framed windows to the centre.

University of Windsor Leddy Library

At the foot of the Ambassador Bridge to Detroit, the modernist Leddy Library marks the University of Windsor's shift from its roots as a Jesuit college to a public university.
Exterior of a brick Modernist library. The words "G. Flint Purdy Library" are displayed in white letters on the facade.

Wayne State University Libraries

Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan is a fine example of an early modern American campus.
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