The 1999 extension to the Royal Library — a tilted black granite and glass volume cantilevered over the harbour at Slotsholmen — is one of the most architecturally assured public buildings in Scandinavia. The atrium faces the water through a full-height glass facade; the escalators cut through the interior volume in a way that makes the building's section legible from inside. The building houses the national newspaper and music collections, a concert hall, a reading room with harbour views, and a bookshop. Entry to the atrium is free; the café at the base looks directly onto the canal.
Slotsholmen, Copenhagen, Denmark