BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA EGYPT

Between the ancient pyramids and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt now has the best of old and new. Like a giant discus landed at an angle or an enormous light switch, Alexandrias oceanfront library is arguably the first great design of the new millennium. Completed in 2002, its inspired by the original Alexandrina library, founded in the 3rd century BC and acclaimed as the greatest of all classical institutions. The vast rotunda space can hold eight million books.