One of the things that satiates my soul and ignites a spark of excitement, awe and wonder is a gorgeous and robust library. There are two reasons for this.
- The vision of a plethora of books ignites a fire within. I see the myriad of bindings lining the shelves and immediately imagine a wealth of knowledge, adventure, and discovery in their volumes! Each tome an element on the road to ultimate Truth.
- But books alone don’t fulfill the equation with regards to a stunning library. The aesthetics of the structure’s architecture and decor add an additional element of magic and excitement to the visitor’s experience. Shouldn’t the surroundings invite the artistic and adventurous side of us to participate as well as the intellectual?
I salivate over photos and articles about the most incredible libraries around the world, and will be sharing some of those in the future. For today though, I want to feature a more modern library that looks incredible – Jay Walker’s Library of the History of Human Imagination.
Jay Walker was the founder of Priceline.com and Walker Digital. He built this 3,600 square foot library which is part of his large home in Ridgefield, CT. It’s an invitation-only private library.
The glass panels of the staircases are etched glass by artist Clyde Lynds. There are about 200 of them each showing human inventions over time. Hidden LED lighting illuminate all the panels by computer. Music is also computer-controlled.
A video tour:
What a blissful place of discovery, imagination and knowledge! My personal library doesn’t hold a candle to this masterpiece, but it does serve my intellectual and aesthetic passions (for the budget I have).
🙂
(Featured image by Aaron “tango” Tang on flickr, licensed by CC BY 2.0)
