If the couple's mission was to make reading relevant again then this is a total triumph. A long queue of people regularly wait to get inside the Barcelona library, in scenes more reminiscent of a concert than a reading room in a quiet area of the city. The Gabriel García Library is no ordinary library.
From the outside it looks like a huge, white stack of books and that is precisely the idea at the self-styled ‘Cathedral of books.’ Inside, the red spruce finish throughout gives it a clean, airy, feel which helps make it seem like a pleasant place to enjoy books. On the fourth floor, a huge window opens to reveal a large wall of vegetation outside.
One woman is sprawled in a hammock enjoying a book, while a child is lolling in a big round straw seat, engrossed in a picture book. It more resembles a beach scene in a holiday resort, than a library. Architects won the 2024 EU Prize for Contemporary Emerging Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award for this design.
The building is situated in Sant Marti neighbourhood, a poor inner-city area of Barcelona, and is proving popular with locals. When they won the commission, the pair were asked to make reading relevant again for the local people. Judging by the popularity of the place, they seem to have succeeded.
On the day when I met the couple, who live in Madrid and run SUMA Architectura, the library was packed. But it was not just students finishing their homework who filled the place. Middle aged women, children and other yo.
