Design for Baghdad Library Unveiled

AMBS Architects have unveiled their design for the Baghdad Library, the first public library to be built in the Iraqi capital since the 1970s. The building is planned to be the centerpiece of "Youth City," in which various buildings and landscapes are oriented about a lake. The 45,000-square-meter (484,000-square-foot) library juts into the water to make a strong architectural statement. Inside, the library's anticipated 3 million volumes are housed under a long-span roof with special skylight filtering light into the tiered spaces. The roof is designed to also spell the word "read" from above in Arabic Kufic script.