Shimmering gold ribbon bookmarks—each of them a unique handmade piece—hang in various places from the ceilings of the library at the University of Strasbourg. Their quiet, tranquil presence blends into the architecture of the entire building. Only the shorter end of the gold ribbon can be seen, emerging from a circular opening in the ceiling. The longer part of the artwork disappears into the obscure gray area behind the drill holes in the ceiling, suggesting the empty space of an imaginary book.

With his art and architecture project Archiv der ungeschriebenen Bücher (Archive of Unwritten Books), Martin Bruno Schmid presents a very subtle work. It interferes with the vast, five-story atrium of the university library in a precise and discreet way.

Inaccessible, yet facing the visitor, Schmid’s archive creates an imaginary space that not only represents an intellectual extension of the library, which contains over 70,000 books, but also refers to the essence of the building—discover, research, learn, understand, and share. The result is an ode and homage to the enduring value of knowledge and insight.