TIME Magazine has compiled its first annual list of the World’s 50 Coolest Places. Biblo in Oslo, a library created for young people ages 10 to 15, and NASA’s Space Center in Houston, USA are both on the list in the new ranking. Read more about the Coolest Library in the World for Kids – in Norway.
Time for Kids’ Magazine ranks the children- and youth-library in Oslo as one of the world’s 50 coolest places of 2019! The library is praised for its design to inspire with many colorful exhibits and surprises. Grab a seat in a pillow-packed wheelbarrow, a vintage pickup truck, or a repurposed ski lift. The best part? This library is just for kids—no adults allowed!
Changing Library Rules
Oslo Public Library (Deichmanske bibliotek) is breaking and changing library rules. In the library, children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 15 can do homework, cook, borrow books, experience author visits, film nights, concerts and theater, or explore and express themselves through art, performance and digital technology. No charge.
To rethink and redesign the library space the design team went directly to the source – young people – to find out their wants and needs. The result is a cool and comfortable alternative between school and home where they can learn, explore, and not least -be themselves.
Fun and educational activities
The dedicated staff at Biblo wants to inspire visitors to love learning and reading books through fun and educational activities such as drama, music, cooking, computer programming and 3-D printing. In the center of the library there’s Teddy, an old Volvo truck, with a functional kitchen in the back and a sofa in the hood. The entire library embodies and encourages creativity and imagination.
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The design team went directly to the source to begin their mission to rethink and redesign the library space. They held focus groups with young people to find out their wants and needs. The youth said they wanted a place to hang out, relax, and escape parents and siblings. In addition, they needed a safe place to socialize and said it should be a space where they can create and do things together. The library has achieved these goals by creating a cool and comfortable ‘third’ space between school and home where youth can learn, explore, and be themselves.
Many floating elements
The space is filled with a sense of weightlessness and ease due to the many floating elements, including bookshelves. This project was a truly unique endeavor that allowed the design team to cater to an extremely important target audience. The result is probably the most fascinating library you will find – anywhere.
World’s Coolest Library in the World for Kids – in Norway
The Biblo library is located at Tøyen Square in ‘Old Oslo’, an area that is being modernized to compensate for the removal of the Munch Museum from the quarter. Biblo opened in 2017.
“Libraries are special places where kids can read, learn, and create. Deichman Biblo Tøyen is one of the coolest of them all. This striking library for children ages 10 to 15” wrote TIME for Kids.
The Coolest Library in the World for Kids – in Norway, written by Tor Kjolberg