OBA Oosterdok (Amsterdam Public Library)

The OBA (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam) Oosterdok branch opened in 2007 on Oosterdokseiland, just east of Amsterdam Centraal, designed by Dutch architect Jo Coenen — also responsible for Maastricht's central library — as an €80-million flagship replacing the network's older, smaller Prinsengracht location. At roughly 28,500 square metres across ten floors, it's frequently cited as the largest public library building in continental Europe, a genuinely startling scale for what is, functionally, a neighbourhood public library open to anyone.

Beyond the roughly 1,200 seats and extensive book, music and media collections, the building houses a 250-seat auditorium, an exhibition space, the small Gerard Reve Museum dedicated to the Dutch novelist, and a full self-service restaurant and café — making it as much a public living room and cultural venue as a book repository, a role increasingly common among ambitious contemporary public libraries.