World’s first ‘ice library’ rises by a frozen Siberian lake

First an elaborate ice hotel, and now an ice library. Built on the shore of the frozen Lake Baikal in Baikalsk, Siberia, the world’s first “ice library” is, as you might imagine, dramatically different from any library we know, from the inside out.

You see, instead of wood-paneled rooms lined with bookshelves of actual books, this “ice library of wonders” completed by local artists and architect Pavel Sannikov gets its literature from crowd-sourced content. Launched last year by the local tourism board, the project asked people from around the world to submit their “wishes and dreams” online.

So far, the project has collected over 1,000 quotes in many languages, including English, German, Chinese, and French. These short phrases were then etched onto 200 tons of ice blocks arranged into a labyrinth, which form the “books” at this one-of-a-kind library.

The collection is not permanent. Once temperatures start rising in April, the “books” will simply melt into the lake. “Then Baikal can ‘read’ them and, possibly make the wishes come true,” Sannikov said.

Inhabitat

Inhabitat

Inhabitat

Inhabitat

Via: Inhabitat, RBTH