UB Law, University of Zurich

This library has been a major draw since it opened in 2004. Which is hardly surprising because the building designed by Spanish star architect Santiago Calatrava is simply overwhelming.

Seen from outside, the Faculty of Law building appears little changed since it was designed for the University of Zurich by Hermann Fietz in 1909. Even the keen-eyed will probably notice nothing more than a glass dome on the roof. But this skylight shouldn’t be underestimated as it is this that lends the library in the heart of the building its radiance. The elongated oval of the glass dome covers what was once an open courtyard. Six enveloping, lenticular galleries – with desks for students running seamlessly along the balustrades – accompany the light down to the ground floor. The materials, such as the white natural stone for floors on the ground floor as well as light wood for other floors and the desk balustrades of the galleries, mean that the library is flooded with light.

Photographers and interested visitors please note: photography is allowed in the interior, but the library is there for the students. Visitors are requested to remain quiet and confine their visit to the ground floor.

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© 2018, ProLitteris, Zurich