The central city library was still housed in a neoclassical building in the city center, but in the 21st century, taking into account the changing scheme of obtaining and distributing knowledge, it was decided to build a new building for it. The site was chosen for the former port in the Björvik area, where a mixed development area is being created, the flagship of which is the Opera House of the Snøhetta bureau. You can read more about the development of the coastal zone of Oslo here.
In 2009, a competition was held for the project of the library and the adjacent quarter (
offices and housing), collectively called the "Dyckman axis" or "Diagonal". The Oslo Library, including its 22 branches, bears the name of Karl Dykman, an 18th century bibliophile, as he bequeathed his collection of 6,000 books and the funds for the establishment of this institution.
The new library has a high-performance façade that protects the interior from the sun's rays: panoramic views only open from the corners of the building. Inside, three "book towers" play a constructive role, otherwise the plan is free and suitable for different uses. To accommodate the necessary almost 20 thousand m2 with 450,000 books on a small plot without erecting a multi-storey building, the architects used consoles - a small one from the east at the level of the second floor and a 20-meter one on the upper, fifth tier: it is "suspended" from the floors and facing new square to the west. Thanks to this solution, the views from the city to the Opera House are also preserved.
The completely transparent first floor and three equal entrances from different sides provide a visual and real openness of the institution, which is designed for two million visitors a year, and 3000 - a day (due to the pandemic, their number is currently limited to a thousand). The policy of modernization and increasing accessibility ensured both the old, neoclassical building and its branches in 2015–2019 an increase in attendance of 43%. According to the city authorities, the development of the library network will give access to knowledge, reading, literature to those who have been limited until now, which, as a result, will strengthen democracy and the cultural heritage of Norway, as well as help to level out contradictions in society.
Inside, the main role is played by three diagonal "light wells" leading from above to each of the entrances and providing the building with sunlight from three large glazed openings in the ceilings. The concrete surfaces of the "wells" and the folded texture of the roof shape the perception of the interior.
On the ground floor there is a cinema, an auditorium for 200 seats, a book depository available to visitors, on the first - a lobby, periodicals, short-term subscription books, a cafe and a restaurant, above - fiction, literary history, a children's section with various "corners" where you can retire from a book.
The third is the media and comics department, workshops with 3D printers and sewing machines, recording studios, a mini-cinema, a stage, and playrooms. The fourth floor is devoted to classrooms, departments of art and architecture, medicine and health, technology, exact and natural sciences. It ends with social sciences, history, psychology, philosophy, religion, literature about Oslo, as well as the original collection of Karl Dykman and calculated for a hundred years
the art project "Library of the Future", where every year one of the modern writers adds a manuscript of his novel.
