(continued)

The design concept of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a simple circle representing the Egyptian sun, to symbolically illuminate the world and human civilization. The inclined roof allows indirect daylight and a clear view of the sea.

The building is clad in Aswan granite engraved with calligraphic inscriptions representing the world civilizations. This wall symbolizes both the heritage of the region and a revival of cultural radiance to reach out to all corners of the universe.

The library is 525 feet (160 meters) in diameter and 750,000 square feet (70,000 square meters) in area. The main reading hall is located in half the building in a large open amphitheater, accessible through a central loaning station and smaller satellite information desks.

The reading room seats 2000 persons and is flexible in its accommodation of current and future technologies.

The room surges upward with a kind of seismic energy while still maintaining an intimacy familiar in Arabic space. The curving wall of the interior creates a secure space for meditation. The surrounding walls move upward and around to further enhance this character.

The Skylights

Pushing up through the interior space are slender columns capped with prism shapes that further distribute light from the overhead skylights. The skylights rise from beneath the earth in a simple repetitive pattern of tetrahedrons.

They face north and are designed not to allow direct sunlight into the main space. The light through these pyramids changes throughout the day to provide a connection to the changing environment.

The tetrahedrons in the ceiling are up to 16 feet (5 meters) deep, fully enclosed and between 55 and 70 feet (17 and 21 meters) over the floor. They act as a "hot box" so that if the electrical and mechanical systems fail, they will act as passive solar convectors, pulling cool air from levels below ground.

The Furnishings

Snøhetta designed the furniture as a part of the overall design. Because the main reading room is terraced, the tops of the tables, shelves, and chairs are highly visible from many viewpoints. As a result, the furnishings are read as a "horizontal facade" when seen from the entrance balcony and terraces high in the room.

The space is further punctuated by the delicately designed chairs that, contrary to the straight lines of the shelves and desk units, express graceful curves and ergonomic considerations, reflecting the early artistic beauty found in historic Egyptian design. The furniture is made of natural materials including various woods, leather, and stainless steel.

The Stone Wall

In contrast to the industrial character of the roof, the building's stone wall acts as a heavy base for the design. It is stone in its simplest form. There are over 86,000 square feet (8000 square meters) of massive 80-inch by 40-inch (2-meter by 1-meter) monoliths, each one uniquely carved with a symbol or alphabetic character.

Nearly 10,000 years of language are portrayed here from over 500 cultures. The stone wall rests in a pool of still water, which reflects the building back into the ground, further enhancing an impression of geologic growth. As the day and seasons progress, the stone wall appears to change in the changing light.

The wall can also be seen as a binding element between earth and object. Lines of sediment appear in the edifice.

A great deal of care has been put into the development of the wall. Egyptian granite was chosen, and local and Norwegian craftsmen joined together to create an efficient and elegant system to use the material to its fullest potential.

Sources of Design ideas

The architects based their design concept on many factors, both tangible and theoretical:

The site created a dramatic setting for the new building, including the circular harbor, the long curving wall of the Corniche, and the contemporary seaside buildings.

The alphabet and the importance of written language are displayed in the Egyptian hieroglyphics and mathematical symbols, recognizing the parallel evolution of science and art.

Information and the importance of exchanging it. A library, as a storehouse for information, must in some way represent our intentions to inform and be informed. It also reminds us that our motivation to inform is not always altruistic but often instinctual.

Technology must be supported by a new library which should, at the same time, "wear the veil of its past ambitions."

History and cultural heritage were especially important for this project. A library can be a frozen moment in time that teaches us to distinguish between past, present, and future.

The notion of resurrection. Much of our history is filled with loss. A new library can play a role in an endless cycle of rebirth, so that when a single book is lost, its ideas do not vanish.

The Library's Context

The new library in Alexandria is part of a larger geometry. The great circular form recalls both the form of the ancient harbor and the heavenly bodies of our universe.

The building dives into the earth at one end and rises above it on the other. As it lifts, it carries with it the stones from below the ground and lifts a disk toward the sea.

One can think of this motion as a movement in time: the ground on which you stand is the present, below your feet is the past, and rising above you is the future. This is a simple geological understanding of where we are, and the library cuts through all of these periods.

Nearby, a 60-foot- (18-meter-) diameter planetarium rises from the ground in dramatic sphere. The effect is reminiscent of the first earth rise seen from the moon by the early astronauts.

In landscaping the site, Snøhetta has chosen native plants and uses plant life to help clean the site of the buildup of dirt and bacteria in the water pools.

The existing archeology of the site has been carefully preserved or moved. Some of the historical items of the site may be placed in the library at a later date.

A Building as Symbol

The Aswan Declaration of 1990 had proclaimed that the Bibliotheca Alexandrina would be a "link with the past and an opening onto the future." It is obvious that the architect worked hard to achieve this concept. Yet the role of architecture as symbol is still subject to interpretation.

Just like architects' attempts to change political structures and social relationships in the 20th century, the "symbolic" value of architecture, in spite of its importance, is, in my view, losing its charm in modern days.

This building, with its symbolic character, stands today to revive not only the memory of the burned ancient library and a forgotten culture, but also a lost role of architecture-as-symbol in our new millennium.

Victor A. Khoueiry is an architect and journalist living in Beirut.

The southern wall of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is of granite, engraved with symbols and letters from many world languages. Photo: Steven Allan The library's great hall. Photo: Steven Allan The sloping glazed roof with a repetitive pattern of tetrahedrons. Photo: Steven Allan The granite southern wall. Photo: Steven Allan Floor plan, level 5. Photo: Steven Allan Southwest elevation. Photo: Steven Allan Northeast elevation. Photo: Steven Allan The spherical planetarium. Photo: Steven Allan   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.