View of atrium and travelators with the harbor beyond | Lecture hall/auditorium in the lower level of the library | Inclined travelators move users through the atrium and under the connecting bridges | View into the reading room from the atrium
A set of travelators moving in the east-west axis from the atrium lead to the formal entrance of the stacks and reading rooms on the third floor. These steeply inclined people movers create a ribbon around which the new library spaces are organized in curved, wavy forms. This light interior of organic shapes is in contrast to the orthogonal arrangement of the old library and the hard geometry of the external, black granite-clad form. The simple geometric form of the library belies its structural complexity. Due to its proximity to the waterfront, the concrete column and deck system are set on a double foundation and are fixed by steel anchors to the limestone stratum
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12 m underground. Four concrete towers containing stairs and core elements serve as horizontal bracing on the interior. The floating facade, in some instances hovering above the ground and inclined outwards, is cantilevered and requires a hung cable-stayed construction. The library is most notable for its prescient awareness, in 1993, of the need to integrate new media in the library of the future. In providing a landmark that not only houses books but sets out to address new values that include the accommodation of different forms of media and cultural activities, the Black Diamond remains of great relevance in the design of libraries today. lw
Birgitte Kleis, “Udvidelsen af det Kongelige Bibliotek”, arkitektur DK, 9/1999, p. 468.