Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and completed in 1963. The building is located on the grounds of Yale University, New Haven. The façade is constructed of white, grey-veined Vermont marble panes which are one and one-quarter inches thick, set into a frame of Vermont Woodbury granite. The thin sheets of marble filter the light allowing rare materials to be displayed without being damaged. The stone, rich materiality and rectilinear geometry give the building a strong presence amongst the Gothic buildings of Yale University. The warm golden light and towering space around the central glass 'cabinet' of rare books is surprisingly different from the cool pale exterior.