Black Diamond (Library), Royal Danish Library (1999)*

Artist/Designer: Schmidt Hammer Lassen

Project Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Figure 1: Black Diamond Library. Source: Jeroen Pulles, Danish National Library Building. 2008, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2014 )

Figure 2: Black Diamond Library. Source: Jbell54, Black Diamond. 2009, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2014 )

Figure 3: Black Diamond Library. Source: Aya, Libraries-Black Diamond. 2011, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2014 )

Figure 4: Black Diamond Library. Source: Car Los, Copenhagen - Den Sorte Diamant / Black Diamond - Royal Library Extension. 2010, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2014 )

Figure 5: Black Diamond Library. Source: Christophe, Black Diamond Interior. 2003, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2014 )

Figure 6: Black Diamond Library. Source: Bastian Eichham/Cola21, The Black Diamond of Copenhagen. 2010, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2014 )

Figure 7: Black Diamond Library. Source: ARCHERA, Libary's Lobby. 2012, Digital Image. ( Source | Accessed : March 14, 2014 )

Style/Period(s):
Modern

Primary Material(s):
Glass, Metal

Function(s):
Library

Related Website(s):

http://www.kb.dk/en/dia/index.html

Significant Date(s):
20th Century

Additional Information:
The Black Diamond Library is a 1999 waterfront extension to the Royal Danish Library's old building in know as the Holm building. Designed by the Danish architects Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen, the building owes its name to the black granite from Zimbabwe used for its facade. Natural light illuminates the central atrium and the reading rooms from the central glazed "crevasse" that cleaves the facade in two. Several sky-walks connect the Black Diamond to the foyer of the old building with modern art, like the fresco ceiling by Per Kirkeby, used to make the difference between the two less obvious.

Further Reading:
Arkitekterne MAA Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen, and SHL Communication. Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen. Aarhus: Arkitekterne maa Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen, 2005.
Dewe, Michael. Planning Public Building Library Buildings: Concepts and Uses for the Librarian. Burlington, VT : Ashgate Pub., 2006.
Worpole, Ken. Contemporary Library Architecture: A Planning and Design Guide. London: Taylor & Francis,2013.

Additional Information:

Building Address
Søren Kierkegaards Plads 1, 1221 København K, Denmark

Significant Dates:
Construction began 1995
Finished in 1999

Associated Projects:

Tags:
Contemporary, Libraries, Denmark, Glass, Metal

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