by Philippe Cloutier

Like something out of a Salvador Dali painting, the Biblioteca Vasconcelos in Mexico City is designed with dream-scapes in mind. Built over urban desolation, the library not only boasts incredible architecture, but also an extensive surrounding botanical garden.

The building make-up of steel, concrete, and glass takes advantage of natural light. With multimedia and conference rooms, a massive audio, print, and braille collection, and an auditorium that seats over 500, the Vasconcelos Library emphasizes that everything isn’t online (though it has over 600 computers for public use).

While the library itself is fantastic, near the center of the photograph are floating whale-bones decorated by artist Gabriel Orozco. The piece is titled: Mobile Matrix. The Art : 21 blog offers an exclusive video and interview that details the concept, creation, and history of the work.

Apart from the aesthetic, the library also functions as a cultural center in Mexico City. With that in mind, if you have a list of libraries to visit around the world, put Vasconcelos near the top. Yet, in spite of its foreign location and grandeur, the epic library reminds us to be grateful for something as simple as public access and equal use. Luckily, we can enjoy both locally. And even more so, considering Seattle’s own Downtown Library, we can appreciate Mexico City’s pride in making an investment into knowledge resources for a range of cultures, ages, and people.