Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s Dokk1 Named the Public Library of the Year

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has just named Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s Dokk1 library in Aarhus, Denmark, as the 2016 winner of the Public Library of the Year Award. At an event in Columbus, Ohio, an international panel of jurors selected Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s design over several other finalists, including the SOM-conceived Chinatown branch of the Chicago Public Library; the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre in Geelong, Australia, by ARM Architecture; and the Success Public Library by Bollig Design Group, also in Australia.

Completed in June 2015, Dokk1—which is centrally located near Aarhus’s once-derelict harbor—has become an integral part of city life, welcoming more than one million visitors within seven months of opening. The panel was impressed by “the great architectural value in the simple and consistent choice of materials throughout the building, which adapts naturally to the harbor environment.” For Schmidt Hammer Lassen—which made headlines earlier this year for designing the world’s biggest waste-to-energy power plant in China—the library is another showcase for its eco-friendly architecture. The structure is classified as a low-energy building and boasts, among other features, solar panels and LED lighting; it’s also the largest library in Scandinavia.

An interior view of the library shows the amount of natural light used in the space.

Founded in 1927 in Scotland, IFLA conducts its annual competition to help encourage new ideas for library design. The Dokk1 is the first Danish library to win the award.