3D print the British Library
A free, printable model of the British Library's terraced roofs and long wing, with the large buildings and streets around it in London, generated from real map data in your browser.
Free, in your browser. Exports a slicer-ready 3MF.
About the British Library
The British Library serves as the United Kingdom's national library and has its home in London. Its holdings are estimated at more than 200 million items from many countries, which places it among the world's largest libraries. Under legal deposit rules it receives a copy of every book published in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a significant share of the titles from overseas that are distributed in the United Kingdom. It was created on July 1, 1973, under the British Library Act 1972; until then the national library had been part of the British Museum.
The library has a purpose-built home on Euston Road beside St Pancras station. Elizabeth II officially opened it on June 25, 1998. Its architecture and history have earned it a Grade I listing, a classification for buildings "of exceptional interest". The architect Colin St John Wilson designed it together with his wife, MJ Long. It was the biggest public building constructed in the UK during the 20th century.
A large piazza faces Euston Road, with public art including large sculptures by Eduardo Paolozzi and Antony Gormley. Paolozzi's is a bronze figure based on Blake's study of Isaac Newton. At the center of the building stands a six-story glass tower that takes its inspiration from a similar structure at the Beinecke Library. It holds the King's Library: 65,000 printed volumes, plus pamphlets, manuscripts and maps that King George III collected between 1763 and 1820.
How it prints
Make this print opens the generator on a 600 m square around the landmark. Buildings print at close to true scale, so the landmark grows with the print size.
| Print size | Landmark height | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| 160 mm default | 11 mm | 1:3,750 |
| 200 mm | 14 mm | 1:3,000 |
| 256 mm | 18 mm | 1:2,344 |
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North
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East
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South
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West
- Terraced roofs with narrow ridges
- The roofs step up in terraces with narrow ridges. Layers of 0.12 to 0.16 mm keep the steps distinct, and a larger print size keeps more of the ridges.
- Long wing and small tower
- A long sloping-roof wing meets a stepped mass topped by a small tower. Print friendly adapts the tower to the print scale, and Full detail keeps every modeled feature.
- One piece with the ground
- The British Library is joined to the ground in the exported file, and the four-side check found no floating parts, so nothing needs gluing.
- Pick the detail for your nozzle
- In the Buildings settings, set Landmark detail to Print friendly to adapt thin parts and small details to the print scale. Full detail keeps every modeled feature, for larger prints or a finer nozzle.
- Colors
- Buildings, roads, water and ground arrive as separate filament slots in the 3MF. The British Library takes the building color.
- File format
- You get a 3MF for Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer or PrusaSlicer. Any of them can save it as STL if you need one.
About this model
The British Library is one of more than 2,300 landmark models in Mini Skyline. They are made with AI, and each one is checked from four sides in its real surroundings before release. Everything around it is built from OpenStreetMap and Overture map data. If you would rather print the shape from map data, turn off Landmark models in the Buildings settings.
Common questions
Is there a British Library STL I can download?
Mini Skyline builds the file for you in your browser and exports 3MF, which every major slicer opens. If you need an STL, open the 3MF in your slicer and export it from there.
How big can I print it?
Any print size from 40 mm across. The British Library grows with the print: about 11 mm tall on the default 160 mm print. For a model larger than your printer bed, Project Mode splits the area into tiles.
Is it free?
Yes. Generation runs in your browser, with no account and nothing behind a paywall.
