2 The National Library

Architects: Herzog & de Meuron (Switzerland) and Amir Mann – Ami Shinar (local architect), 2023

Guided tours of one of the most impressive buildings ever built in Jerusalem – the home of the National Library. It houses the important cultural treasures and legacy of Israeli society and the Jewish people, artifacts from Judaica, Israeli, Islamic and Middle Eastern collections, and the National Sound Archive.

The building, which was designed without any fences facing the street to make it more inviting to the public, extends across an area of 46,000 m², with six floors above ground and five below ground.  It is shaped like a stone cube with taut edges that hovers above the transparent and welcoming ground floor. The building’s facades are covered with round-cornered stone, whose shape is reminiscent of the stones of the Western Wall. The soft and curving design language of the facades continues inside the building itself, as seen in the design of the interior walls, the stairwells, the ceiling, the light fixtures and the furniture.

The 90-minute tours will pass through the foyers in the building, while also offering participants a view of the main reading room that is lit by natural light. They will end at the Letters of Light sculpture in the library garden.