Stadsbibliotek Malmö
While I was preparing for my short trip to Malmö in autumn 2022, Malmö City Library popped up quite quickly – for sight seeing. It went straight onto my must-see list.
The outside view of the library from the street I came from showed a lot of bricks and didn't reveal much about the futuristic design of the interior. In fact, the library was divided into two sections.
On the one hand, there was this futuristic, large and bright room with loads of white. An oversized shelf, reminiscent of a Kallax shelf, stood at one side of the room and attracted my attention as soon as I entered the reading room. Every single box was a room with bookshelves inside. Naturally, I went up and walked through the boxes. Another thing that could not be overlooked was the huge glass front with a view of the park. Quite idyllic.
The other area was a little more down-to-earth and was the side I had already seen from the outside. I particularly remember the staircase. I don't have the pictures or words to describe this part. Nevertheless, here's an attempt: The staircase was atrium-like. If you stood in the centre of the lowest floor, a rectangular area, you could look up and see all the way to the roof. Along the way, you can see the individual floors like a ladder. The corridor of each floor circles this atrium in a rectangular shape, with the first bookshelves being against the wall. Along this corridor, next to the bookshelves, there are entrances to the other rooms. The photo is only a cut-out but perhaps it helps to visualise it. Another thing that caught my eye was more brown, more wood. I also noticed and liked the colour highlighting of the book labels, even though they are certainly not a new invention.
And look, the lamp heads on the shelves. I don't know if every shelf had one - but the fact that a few of them did excites me. It puts every single shelf in the spotlight.
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I've had these pictures for more than two years and I never really knew how to get them on the blog content-wise. I had ideas, but sometimes there's something that holds you back. While being nostalgic, I wrote my first post about libraries (library tour through Dresden) and by doing so I opened the door. It is nice that I have reached this moment now - especially after my announcement - and show my impressions from Stadsbibliotek Malmö.
Black-white photos
Camera + lens: Minolta 9000 AF + Minolta AF 50 mm f/1.4
Film: Kodak T-Max 100
Development + scan: Charlie Engel Lab 2.0
Colour photos
Camera: Samsung Galax A3 (2017)
