Gestalten’s newest book ‘Temples of Books’ features two libraries by JKMM
‘Temples of Books’ by Gestalten – the newest collection of the world’s greatest libraries features from Finland the Kirkkonummi Library ‘Fyyri’ and the Seinäjoki Library ‘Apila’, both designed by JKMM.
According to Gestalten and the book author Marianne Julia Strauss
“Libraries are so much more than collections of books. They are archives of knowledge, spaces of study, sources of inspiration and connection. Among the world’s most universal and democratic places, they are also outstanding icons of architecture that represent the societies that built them.
‘Temples of Books’ celebrates the world’s oldest and grandest shrines to the written word, as well as new and tiny ones: from baroque palaces to micro-libraries made of recycled plastics, and the unlikely ones in between.
Looking at the diverse architecture of global libraries throughout the ages, Temples of Books goes further and explores the very idea of libraries themselves. This is a book about the beauty of books, a book for book lovers and for those who believe in the power of ideals.”
JKMM has been involved in a number of Finnish new-generation libraries, including Turku Library, Seinäjoki Library, the Harald Herlin Learning Centre and, latterly, Kirkkonummi Library.
“We like to think of Finnish libraries as a sort of infrastructure for happiness. As an architect, it is a great privilege to be involved in these projects. The Finnish library institution is more than 100 years old, and it keeps reinventing itself every ten years or so,” says JKMM’s founding partner and lead designer Teemu Kurkela.
For more information about the libraries designed by JKMM jkmm.fi and about the book gestalten.com