The design competition following a pre-qualification took place from March - September 2008. 
The winners of the design competition was selected on the basis of the following criteria, which are not listed in any order of priority:

• Overall architectural, aesthetic, functional and technical assessment of the response to the requirements set out in the competition brief.
• The use of integrated design, including integration, synergy and cohesion between the architectural concept, load-bearing structures, sustainable measures and principles governing the technical installations.
• Cost estimate, including the proposed design’s robustness in terms of compliance with the budgetary framework. A specific assessment will be made of the way in which integrated design has been used from a point of view of construction costs and building technology.
• Fee budget.

The three equal winners of the design competition were:
Project number 71084: Mecanoo architecten, Gjørtz, Pank & Partnere A/S, ABT Consulting Engineers and NIRAS

Project number 54543: AART a/s, Arkitema K/S, Bascon A/S, COWI A/S, Prof. Niels Ole Finnemann, Peter Dreyer/Seismonaut, Lennart Bjørneborn/Danmarks Biblioteksskole, Hans Peter Kuhn

Project number 35639: schmidt hammer lassen architects, Arkitekt Kristine Jensens Tegnestue aps, Bosch & Fjord aps, ALECTIA A/S, Bibliotekskonsulenter Henrik Jochumsen and Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen
All three winners were subsequently invited to participate in a negotiated procedure without prior announcement

The six team participating in the design competition were:
Project number 17913: Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter A/S, Marianne Levinsen Aps, Imitio I/S, Moe & Brødsgaard A/S Rådgivende Ingeniører, Gade & Mortensen Akustik, GEO

Project number 35639: schmidt hammer lassen architects, Arkitekt Kristine Jensens Tegnestue aps, Bosch & Fjord aps, ALECTIA A/S, Bibliotekskonsulenter Henrik Jochumsen and Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen

Project number 38410: 3XN Architects, Lisbeth Westergaard Planning, Gehl Architects, Nan Dahlkild/Danmarks Biblioteksskole, Søren Jensen A/S, Max Fordham, Atkins Design Solutions, DBI,

Project number 54543: AART a/s, Arkitema K/S, Bascon A/S, COWI A/S, Prof. Niels Ole Finnemann, Peter Dreyer/Seismonaut, Lennart Bjørneborn/Danmarks Biblioteksskole, Hans Peter Kuhn

Project number 71084: Mecanoo architecten, Gjørtz, Pank & Partnere A/S, ABT Consulting Engineers and NIRAS

Project number 80750: C.F.Møller A/S, Cebra A/S, BB+GG ARQUITECTES, Ingeniørfirmaet Grontmij/Carl Bro A/S, Arkitektbureauet Kollision I/S

Read the assessment panel's evaluation (in Danish)