Manchester Central Library Reading Room Dome

28 September 2019 · Manchester

Manchester Central Library's circular reading room pulls the eye upward whether you intend it or not. The oculus skylight floods the rotunda with flat overcast light, landing evenly across the inscription frieze, the ornate clock centrepiece, and the rows of readers below. The room does two things at once — it is a working library and a piece of architecture that insists on being looked at. The symmetry is deliberate, almost theatrical, but the people bent over their desks at the long oak tables keep it from tipping into monument.