New Canadian Library’s Hilarious Redesign Sparks Controversy

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. And don’t judge an unfinished building by its cladding.”

Ashley Holady –
Book Culture Just For Fun

The new library in the Canadian city of Edmonton is currently undergoing a redesign that has become controversial as well as comical. Named after Stanley A. Milner, the library was built in 1967 but closed down in 2016, only for $85 million to be spent on its redesign, which will be three times larger in size and will not be complete until Valentine’s Day, 2020.

 

 

The design plan for the new building illustrating its appearance upon completion has been recently released and has since become the subject of heated criticism and low-key mockery due to its striking resemblance to warships and tanks.

 

Edmonton library redesign
Image via Edmonton Journal

 

The widely tweeted criticism points out that this design placed alongside the building’s original design plan creates an extremely strong contrast, to say the least.

The Edmonton Public Library (EPL), as well as mayor Don Iveson, tried to defend the library’s soon-to-be fierce-looking design, dubbing it as a “welcoming space,” and telling the critics to hold their fire and wait six months for the library’s official grand opening when the exterior is finally done.

Despite their efforts though, the complaints continued rolling in on social media, especially on Twitter with Tweets like this…

 

 

However, despite the negative outcry, some were supportive of the library’s redesign, with one Twitter user calling the new look both “badass” and fitting for the unique town of Edmonton in which it resides, while another sums it up perfectly with this quote: “Don’t judge a book by its cover. And don’t judge an unfinished building by its cladding.”

The EPL’s reaction to all of the positive Tweets is priceless.

 

Featured Image via connect2edmonton.ca