Students at Sheffield University's new library complex, the Information Commons, certainly agree - as they work and relax on these classic Danish designer chairs.

And it's just as well they're all they are cracked up to be - each one costs a mind-boggling £2,626.13p. Including VAT, of course.

The Commons, officially opened this week, has 16 of the famous chairs, which were created by Danish designer Arne Jacobsen in 1957 for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen.

They were instantly hailed as a design classic and have been in production ever since - at a price.

The Egg chairs add a touch of luxury to the £23 million development next to Brook Hill roundabout, which has itself been turning heads since it was completed in the spring.

Open 24 hours a day, the green copper-clad complex has 1,384 more conventional seats, 500 PCs, 100,000 of the university's most in-demand books and a 70-seat cafe.

Martin Lewis, the University's director of library services, said the idea for the Egg chairs had come from the building's architects RMJM.

"They saw that the chairs would be a dramatic accompaniment to the four storey vertical windows on the building's eastern side," he said.

"Their inspiration was the 1990s public library at Linkoping, in southern Sweden, which has a long row of Eggs in front of a huge glass wall, so that customers can curl up with a book and admire the view."

The £42,000-plus bill for the chairs was paid for by former students - 3,000 of whom have donated over the last four years to various funds set up by the university.

Another initiative saw old boys and girls providing £250,000 for 125 scholarships for students from disadvantaged backgrounds .

Information Commons was chosen as the key project for the University's Centenary Year of 2005 and more than £150,000 was raised for some special extras for the building.

These included plasma screens for classrooms, better carpets, extra PCs and books - and of course the Egg chairs.

"We'd like to get another eight on another floor to complete the original design for the building, but at the moment funds don't allow us to," Martin added.

"They provide something special - the Egg chair is widely regarded as among the most beautiful pieces of modern furniture.

"Naturally, we hope that our students will respect and look after them, along with the rest of the building. And we wouldn't be surprised if our architecture students occasionally come in just to worship them," Martin added.