That's a lot of books! Thank goodness for Ipads!

I used to have a dream similar to this. Instead of books, I wanted to be sorrounded by Barbies!! This is pretty cool!!

Stairway to heaven?

I can't help but look at this and think it's blocking the gorgeous architecture of the space.

It's like Jenga but with books!

Yeah, it doesn't match the architecture at all, huh?

no it doesn't match the architecture...I think it complements it (:

Well, that's it. All of my Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler fantasies just switched museums!

I dunno. These shelves are certainly practical & minimalist & aesthetically pleasing but they have a cold feeling. I wouldn't want to stop & linger & pull books off the shelf & page through them. There is an abstract quality to some of the book storage systems on AT. As though the books themselves are primarily design/status objects rather than beloved things that people actually use & read.... (I'm thinking especially of the many bookshelves I've seen where the books are arranged by color . Yeah, it looks very cool but when you have a large number of books-- how do you find a particular volume? Do you just remember that it had a gray or a pink cover? & What if you want to buy a beige book & you don't have a beige section in the bookshelves? Do you hide the beige book under the bed?)

I think I just wet myself.

@mirandajane... you would be surprised. I had a roommate that love to color coordinate the bookshelves and now I do actually know what color they are... and there is always room for more!

I love books and love filling my home with them, so I'm really glad the V&A is exploring this.

I agree with @mirandajane that I'd love something warmer, something that helped me to stop and linger in this bookish fantasy space.

I don't get the vibe that the owner of this is really a book lover, as it lacks several practical considerations:

First, as was mentioned previously, how does one find a book? How do you reach the ones that are too high up (I wouldn't climb that thing!), there isn't a ladder system anywhere.

Second, the books appear difficult to remove from the shelf (note the lip and limited headroom), it appears that one must lift them out on an angle to remove them. This wouldn't be necessary if there was a wall behind the books, but since there isn't, they had to put limited headroom on each shelf to prevent the books from being knocked backwards to their demise. By the way, does the interior of this look very inviting to you (coming from a book-lover)? All I can picture is soreness and splinters.

Finally aesthetics. The bare wood doesn't fit here, it looks like a pile of 2x4's. This demands to be made of iron or at least painted black. It just doesn't look right next to the crown molding, recessed ceilings, and iron railings. This would be more at home in a very modern home.

Overall I think it's very creative and interesting but it appears to have been built for somebody who likes looking at books rather than reading them. This structure begs to be in a more modern environment if you ask me.

I absolutely love this. Too bad it's expensive beyond my means, but it's very cool. Much nicer than the average bookshelf. Plus my cat would love following me around inside. It's like some odd skeleton-library.

Anybody with that many books has a serious hoarding problem. Either that or a librarian fetish... ~:o)

It's a display in a museum, not a bookshelf in an actual home.

What Heatherkay said. It's an art installation, not a household utility. I swear, some AT readers would paint Michelangelo's David glossy turquoise to make it pop and gut-reno Versailles to give it a clean, modern vibe.

I am confused. Are people not reading the description? It's an exhibit on display in a museum, not in someone's home. I don't imagine they can have the museum switch its architectural details to something more modern for their showing.

I think it could look great as is in a modern home.The option to paint or add more finishing touches is always there too. Personally, I'd use it to chuck things at the people down below.

I love the idea of this bookshelf! It's a awesome idea and something I would love to have in my home some day (even though I know it's a showpiece right now) but I think I would do it a bit different...all the wood makes it look just unfinished to me for some reason. I might incorporate the idea along a spiral staircase to another floor so that it's practical as well. Not criticizing, just adding my own flare :)

MyNameIsPurple - I think I would probably do the same, lol. I have way too evil a mind and would be playing all kinds of pranks! :)

Love the reading nook at the top. It's like a little reward for walking all the way up! Could be prettier, yes, but the basic idea is just wonderful.

Once again, "readers" comment without actually reading the post. They're like children who just look at the illustrations in picture books, and try to deduce what the story is about. Usually they only get it half right.

I quite like this as an installation. It seems like a really nice space to be in. I'd love it if there was a little reading platform at the top!

yes, hnhkt, that would be marvelous: imagine a reading platform on the top, under a frosted skylight, located within a converted warehouse flat with industrial windows overlooking the river of your choice. My husband would love this too--all of my troublesome books, sorted safely away in one place.

bookmarked for when i become a millionaire; i will build this!

It just occurred to me that I've to dust my bookshelves ... ;-)

Very creative use of space. Books and bookshelves have been used for years as decoration. This brings a feeling of warmth to such a large area. Nice choice on thinking outside the box!

Wow! I'm impressed!!

Awesome

For all my dreaming about the perfect bookshelves for our 5,000 books, I've found it! If only my husband were an accomplished enough carpenter to copy it! Oh, and we'd need higher ceilings...!

@hnhkt --Yes, I did actually read the post; & I'm aware that this is an art installation. I was responding mainly to AT's description of the structure: "....a book lover's dream--the ultimate bookshelf, one that you can literally climb inside & spend the day in. Talk about getting lost in a good book!" I am a book lover & this cage-like edifice is not my idea of a great place to get lost in a book. It looks uncomfortable &, as AlexanderRad pointed out, the books themselves are somewhat inaccessible. Perhaps the Rintala Eggertsson Architects are making an artistic statement about books being diminished to a mere design object.

I love this idea!

When I look at it I imagine it must smell nice and woody and the sound my shoes would make on the wooden floor. I'd love to see this in person.

I arrange some of my books by color, because that's what I remember them by. It's easier, especially since I have a lot of academic books with long titles. I guess I could organize them alphabetically, but it's far more easier to do it by color. I used to do it by theme, but my "Misc." category was way to large. I need to have some sort of organization.

@heatherkay & @rosenatti
As art, I like that the piece works on (excuse the pun) a couple of different levels. It's called the Ark--so it makes me think of the Ark of the Covenant--a cabinet that holds sacred knowledge. Also I think of Noah's Ark--a structure built to save books ahead of the (digital) flood. Yet the fine art aspect of this piece is complicated by the fact that it is designed by architects. It's not unreasonable to assume that The Ark, as well as being installation art, is also an advertisement for the firm/ prototype for future clients. These designers might welcome feedback about a structure that will, after all, probably be built one day in someone's home.

@ Tamarind--I like the way that you put yourself imaginatively in this installation. I reckon the wood would smell new. I also wonder about the actual books used in it.... Does the placement & grouping of them tell a story?

Also @rosenatti--Actually, I think the David might look good painted a glossy hot pink! ;-)

Oh My God, I am breathless!!!

I don't see it as "cold" at all-- the warmth & character comes from the BOOKS, not the shelves. I love the idea of being so thoroughly surrounded by my books!

(Of course, that bookcase is larger than my entire apartment, but that's another matter =^D)

They should've put books on the inner tower as well. On doit mettre les livres dans la tour dedans aussi.

*HURK* I just spewed my beer everywhere with EXCITEMENT! (Yes, I "surf 'n' sip.")

Who the heck cares if this thing is made of bald eagle bones or if it's located in Sadam Hussein's palace? The idea of climbing inside a book-fort to hole up and read Harry Potter/Bridget Jones/<Insert Author Here> makes me giddy as a 5 year old on Christmas morning!!!

No,no,no,no!

I can't beleive the Victoria and Albert are actually displaying some real art for once. It seems every single exhibition they have must be an advertisement for some product or branding. This is the one "museum" where they are unashamedly and completely all about the money. In fact, you even need to go through their very overpriced gift shop in order to enter the museum!

OMG! This is really a dream come true! Especially for people like me, who love books!

@Paley... I've not been to a museum/art gallery yet where they don't require you to walk through a shop either before or after an exhibition. It just goes with the territory.... what would you rather, higher entrance fees, or walk through a shop? Personally, I always enjoy the items in the shop, and usually find neat little things.

Also, it really bothers me when people get up on their soapboxes and dictate what is and isn't art. Art is subjective, and highly personal. You may not enjoy it, or appreciate it, but that doesn't mean it isn't art.

I love this. It has always been a dream of mine to have a library in my home, when I own my own. How cool would it be to have a two-story one? My book collection will have to VASTLY increase in size, though.

Talk about heavenly!!!! Love it.

Hiya @ hnhkt, i just wanted to respond to your comment re galleries/museums. I agree with you that lots do require going through shops and it being part and parcel of the experience vs higher entrance fees. However the V&A was founded by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (hence the name) along with the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum under the guise of it being a museum free of charge to bring culture and education to the people as its top priority. Its entire mission was to be completely devoted to be enriching the lives of the British public. Secondly, as it is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport it seems dually wrong to commercialise the museum with sponsored exhibitions... fashion vs sport- sponsored by ecco shoes?!

I recently visited this architecture exhibit - and out of the 7 pieces, this was my absolute favorite. There were a few places to sit down within the structure and had there not been a queue, I could have stayed all day. Practical? Maybe not. Book-lover's dream? Absolutely.

Thank you Paley, for the history of V&A... I was already aware of it though.
I agree with you, but at the same time, the majority of museums and art galleries just aren't getting the funding they used to... and exhibitions/upkeep/maintenance are getting more and more expensive. Governments over the world are allocating smaller and smaller budgets to art/culture departments.
To be able to afford to run exhibitions, they often have to garner sponsorship to cover costs. Often the major sponsorship of one exhibition will allow funding to be directed toward a second.
A lot of museums and art galleries are, theoretically, supposed to be fully-funded spaces for the public to engage in and experience art, but these institutions have to find a way to cover costs.

It reminds me of the library in the film "The Name of the Rose".

All I can think is how delicious it would smell. Wood and books. YUM! I want to go huff it.

I don't like the distraction from the rest of the architecture and I don't think that this looks like a warm and inviting place to read.

This looks a bit like a scaled-down version of the core of the British Library. It's hard to get a picture of it, but the center of the building is a distinct structure with the books, with all the common areas and so forth surrounding it. http://www.librarystudentjournal.org/index.php/lsj/article/viewFile/62/157/525

Fantastic! As a kid I had a recurring dream about a huge library with shelves connected at the top with bridges. This is the closest thing I've seen to that in real life!

I would totally love to have this in lieu of a "real" staircase. Maybe the bookshelves built around a spiral staircase? Yummy!

i just died and woke up in book heaven O_O

Been there! It was pretty darn cool

I want to live inside of it!

I love this! This could be so cool and good looking to incorporate this in an open staircase. Especially I love that the spines of the books are hidden inside so it looks cohesive and relaxed from outside.

These architects are taking a design studio at my uni at the moment, and I went to a lecture where they talked about this project - I think it's a really nice installation, the contrast between exterior and interior and the way you have to go inside to see what's there is quite enticing! A scaled down version could definitely be built in to your home.. that would be cool.