Macquarie University Library

Leaves of landscape and aluminium ribbons opening to all

Macquarie University Library is an innovative welcoming and inspiring landmark building for the University. It represents a new generation of library design — full of dynamic, collaborative, open spaces for learning, challenging the traditional notion of a library as a quiet, storage facility for printed materials.

The arrangement of the built form creates an extension of the natural parkland ground plane over the podium. The design invites the landscape into the building, reflecting natural daylight and shelters in a way that is directly inspired by the forest of eucalypts on the campus. Generous atrium walkways and social spaces connect all levels and facilitate formal and informal knowledge exchange between students, researchers and staff.

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