Coffee in the Library
Posted: Mar. 13, 2009
Libraries in general have always been favorite places of mine. Every time I visit a new city I make a point of visiting the library of the largest university in town, or the municipal library if there is one.
My first visit to the Hong Kong central library six years ago certainly encouraged this habit. Rarely if ever have the sheer aesthetics and elegance of function a library left such a deep impression on me. It's a space like a wonderfully non-commercial shopping mall. I now regularly bring out of town visitors here to enjoy the unique interior architecture, surrounding park, and the in-library cafe, Delifrance.
The library's interior is composed of a single, large, central space which expands upwards in concentric rings of receding balconies. Each balcony is a floor which alternately contain browsing stacks, internet ready work areas, and periodical browsing. If you stand on the top balcony and look down you can see all of the balconies below you, to your sides, and across from you in addition to the floor of the central space. Three glass elevators run directly through the middle of it all providing its riders with a commanding view of the central space and all of the surrounding balconies on their way up.
On my past two visits to the Hong Kong central library I have had a snack at the Delifrance, the café which is more or less built into the library at the back of the ground floor. Delifrance serves a very pleasant menu of coffee, snacks, and light fare such as pasta. Today I had the personal sized quiche lorraine while my dining companion had his go-to pastry of choice, the apricot croissant.
If you're in Hong Kong for a couple of days, I would seriously consider penciling in an afternoon at the central library. At the very least we can guarantee that you won't starve.
