The library will resemble an open book.

Remember how, as part of the 2016 Year of Reading, it was announced that a huge new world-class library would be built in Dubai?

Well, we’re pleased to report that construction is well underway, and the stunning Mohammed bin Rashid Library is coming along nicely.

Dubai Municipality director-general Hussein Nasser Lootah recently went to check on the progress of the 66,000 square metre library, located in Al Jaddaf (across the Creek from Dubai Festival City).

This video shows the construction site:

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The library will not just be any old library, but is designed to be “the largest cultural centre in the Middle East and North Africa region”.

It will house more than 4.5 million books, including printed and e-books, and have several areas for events, activities, education and cultural festivals, as well as venues for exhibitions, and a 500-seat lecture theatre.

The seven-storey building has been designed to resemble an open book sitting on a rehl – a traditional lectern which holds the Quran.

This is what it will look like from the outside:

And this is what the interior will look like:

When open, the library is expected to receive around nine million visitors annually.

So when can all of us bookworms go and visit? The library is expected to be completed within the next six months. We’ll let you know as soon as the project enters the next chapter (sorry).

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