GIG Fassadenbau - Exterior Envelope - Brief Article

Architectural Review, The, Dec, 2001

The Great Library, Alexandria, Egypt has just been completed. The dominant element of the design, by Norwegian architect Snohetta, is a circular reading room, 160m in diameter. It is covered with an inclined roof -- a huge silver disc -- of anodized aluminium which has been folded into diagonal triangular facets to frame glazed units and to diffuse light entering the room.

Coloured glass blocks have been incorporated into the cladding panels at one side to create tinted reflections on the floor of the great space.