Europe’s Most Innovative Library Has A Botanical Garden On Its Roof

Standing on it The garden roof of the Warsaw University Library (Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie) feels like being in the center of the universe, or at least Poland. From the perch, you can see the spire of the Palace of Culture and Science, the neighboring Copernicus Science Center, the basket-like PGE Narodowy stadium and the banks of the Vistula River. Students can also be easily seen below, sitting in study rooms surrounded by stacks of books, visible through large arched windows.

There is an inherent attraction to library tourism—seeing the places where nations store their collective knowledge and history. The Library of the University of Warsaw makes a particularly rich stop. Although this intellectual center has only stood on Dobra (“Good”) Street for 26 years, the library has long been a symbol of the city’s struggle for knowledge. Since its founding in 1816, it has survived both World Wars, the November Uprising of 1830, and Communism. At a time when books and knowledge are again under threat, both in the United States and abroad, it is also a reminder of the wealth of knowledge that can be lost in the digital age.

The building is a sharp departure from the Soviet-style block architecture that defines the character of the city. As librarian Lilianna Nalewajska explains, its exterior, a candy-colored grille from past library digs (a symbolic link between past and present) and a green facade with book-like engravings of Plato, Polish poet Jan Kochanowski, and various other classics, is a tribute to what’s inside. It’s especially meaningful given the building’s construction date of 1999, just eight years after the fall of communism, when many of those works were banned from public access.

“The idea of ​​the architects of this place, Marek Budzynski and Zbigniew Badowski, was to show that this is an important place for humanity,” says Nalewajska. “But here you can find texts from different cultures, different attitudes. Visitors come to light through books.”

The building is made of glass and steel, a minimalist construction designed to make the most of light during the short winter days. Large green beams pass over the glass ceiling, creating a metallic, forest-like canopy. In 2002, the Polish Minister of Infrastructure awarded the library an award for its “outstanding digital qualities”.

As Nalewajska points out, the symbolism of the entrance extends throughout the building, particularly noticeable in the statues of Demosthenes and Sophocles, which stand on columns flanking the entrance way.