Wednesday 4 September 2013

Malala Opens Library

When Malala Yousafzai returns to school, she'll have plenty to write about in her What-I-did-in-the-holidays essay. Yesterday she officially opened Europe's largest public library: The Library of Birmingham, the city where she was treated for her life-threatening gunshot wound in the head. The library cost £189m, houses a million books, more than 200 public access computers and the old Shakespeare Memorial Room (CLICK). Architect Francine Houben surrounded the building with what to me looks like barbed wire, as a nod toward Birmingham's industrial past. CLICK for a BBC slide show. Next Malala will be off to The Hague to receive the International Children's Peace Prize on 6 September (CLICK). Busy girl.

posted by Unknown @ 4.9.13   2 comments

2 Comments:

At 5/9/13, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The bright sunlight shining through the windows creates a pattern of shadows of the exterior metalwork. It strikes me that a light sensitive person walking along the corridor space could rapidly experience "flicker" nausea. It is a debilitating effect usually caused by walking past vertical railings or avenues of trees.

 
At 5/9/13, Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks for your interesting comment. Light flickering at certain speeds can cause epileptic fits, which is why the BBC now warns viewers when flash photography is coming up in news reports. Mysterious fatal car crashes on tree-lined French avenues have now been attributed to light flashing through the trees at certain times of the day, causing epileptic fits. So it can be a very serious problem. Let's hope walking pace in Birmingham Library doesn't trigger fits.

 

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