Karo Architekten collaborated with local residents of Magdeburg, Germany, to create an open air public library and cultural center and revitilize the community. In the public center, books are free to take and leave 24 hours a day. To use a book, residents simply “walk up to a cubby and pull out a tome.” Given no membership is required, there are no barriers to accessing the books.

According to Inhabitat, the library began as an "assemblage of 1,000 empty beer cartons pulled together by residents." The building includes green space and the recycled facade of an old warehouse. Inhabitat writes that the local community helped conceive of the design and were involved from the get-go. The design started as a "1:1 model made from beer cartons," and was later finalized by Karo Architeckten. The firm incorporated parts of a demolished warehouse into the library's facade. The site's green plaza also includes a reading cafe and stage for local community events. 

Read the article and see more photos.

Also, Germany celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall this week. According to The New York Times, local artists have been celebrating the anniversary with public art exhibits along the former wall's route, including a domino-like row of slabs, street festivals, and the on-going wall museum. View a slideshow and full coverage.

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