A new “floating” library envisioned for the Porta Vittoria Park in Milan, Italy may look like a fantasy concept unlikely to become real. But Bolzano and Berlin-based architecture firm Studio noa* (network of architecture) has brought such projects to life before, and the results are always spectacular. For “The Tree of Knowledge,” the firm wanted to evoke the feeling of gazing at a beautiful book cover knowing you’re about to immerse yourself in a wonderful story. Their futuristic yet organic design is a layered complex of discovery “imbued with surreal atmospheres of rooftop forests and flying books,” as they themselves put it.

“The project’s starting point was the research into the meaning, usage, and features of a 21st-century library,” the firm explains. “Studio noa* reimagined it as a hub of creativity, aiming to create a stimulating environment for freeing the mind and acquiring new knowledge. As a prerogative, a relaxed and quiet atmosphere, as an added value, the possibility of moving in a hybrid environment breeding new ideas, where the line between inside and outside becomes blurred. Therefore, the design of a complex architectural structure was flanked by the creation of the natural landscape, which permeates all spaces.”
“It feels like climbing a tree after having walked through a lush garden. And not by chance, since the archetype that inspired the team of architects is the Garden o...