Our proposal for the Berlin Central State Library interprets the Library of the 21st Century as a generous, open monospace that is dedicated to knowledge reception for all parts of society through all digital and physical mediums. To generate this sense of community and interaction the building connects various fields of knowledge with each other and its urban context. Meanwhile the plan offers high adaptability, which enables the library to be subdivided into diverse units to allow various forms of usage, communication, intimacy and learning.

The size, clarity and recognisability of the cube stand in a complementary relationship with the vast openness of the park landscape on the former Tempelhof Airfield. At a closer distance the softly oscillating facade heightens the compact cube, inviting into the library and opening up impressive views over the park.

The building is 60 meters and 12 storeys high with a footprint of 74.4 x 74.4 meters. These dimensions create a compactness that is very favourable for the usability and storage of a library, creating short distances while allowing to have one floor per program unit. The large ‘reading ramps’, atriums and ‘reading windows’ connect several thematic areas and thus emphasise inter- and cross-disciplinary models of thought.