Winner of the Stirling Prize for Architecture in 2000 at the design of Alsop and Störmer and a cool £5 million, the Peckham Library is an intriguing example of contemporary architecture, and also incorporates a much-appreciated functional element to its structure. Positioned like an L on its head, the library’s elevated reading room juts out on the second story well above street level, turning the space into an aerial oasis for slipping into your book with your head in the clouds.

Upon opening in 2000, the library attracted throngs of visitors, but the numbers have balanced out in the past couple years, making the library even more of an appealing, and at the right time, uncrowded escape right within Southeast London. Climb through the geometrical levels, find yourself a good book, browse through the CDs or DVDs and lend yourself to an ideal setting for delving into other worlds.