Berlin Brain

“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library”. Whoever enters the philological library of the Free University, to them, Jorge Luis Borges’s idea seems very plausible. The new-build by Lord Norman Foster, in which the libraries of all the philological departments have been consolidated, is a fascinating architecture of the mind.

The structure, in its design, mirrors the human brain, in which thousands of books are preserved. At the very top, one can make oneself comfortable in chic armchairs, which seem to originate from the star-ship enterprise, and browse through books. The best thing about the library is that it is not only open to students and alumni but to all visitors, who want to be delighted by the bold architecture and books.

I find incredible, not only the architecture and the very latest equipment (particularly in comparison to the age stricken copier of my old institute, that was constantly just short of its final retirement) but also viewing the old worn books again, which I once had in my hands while in school and that now stand in long rows within these elegant shelves.