Ortner & Ortner Saxon federal and state library & Dresden university library 1996-2002

The amalgamation of the various libraries in Saxony (national, federal and university) has resulted here in a library of European rank. The building itself is composed of two stone blocks of equal size that face each other across a lawn. Centrally positioned between the two blocks an area of glass that matches the floor area of either block is set flush in the lawn, forming the skylight for the central reading room below. This reading room is the core of a three-storey library plinth that extends beneath the lawn across the entire area of the former sports grounds.