MVRDV has designed a landscape of books in Tianjin

The Tianjin Binhai Library by MVRDV features terraced bookshelves that create an interior, topographical, landscape whose contours reach out and wrap around the facade.

MVRDV, Tianjin Binhai Library, Tianjin, China, 2017

MVRDV have, with the Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute (TUPDI), designed Tianjin Binhai Library as part of a larger plan to provide a cultural district for the city. The building acts not only as an education centre but as a connector from the park into the cultural district. An oval opening punctured through the building is propped open by the Eye, a mirrored sphere with an auditorium, which takes the main stage within the atrium and enlarges the perceived space within. Terraced bookshelves which echo the form of the sphere create an interior, topographical, landscape whose contours reach out and wrap around the facade. In this way, the stepped bookshelves within are represented on the outside, with each level doubling up as a louvre.

The five levels of the building contain an extensive programme of educational facilities. The subterranean level has in it service spaces, book storage, and a large archive, whilst above this on the ground floor are easy to access reading areas for children and the elderly, the main entrance and access to the cultural complex, the auditorium and terraced access to the floors above. The first and second floors consist primarily of reading rooms, books and lounge areas whilst the top two floors also include meeting rooms, offices, computer rooms, and audio rooms.

Img.17 MVRDV, Tianjin Binhai Library, Tianjin, China, 2017
MVRDV, Tianjin Binhai Library, Tianjin, China, 2017
Project:
Tianjin Binhai Library
Location:
Tianjin Binhai, China
Program:
library
Architect:
MVRDV
Design team:
Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries with Wenchian Shi, María López Calleja, Kyosuk Lee, Sen Yang, Marta Pozo, Chi Li, Ray Zhu, Ángel Sánchez Navarro, Daehee Suk, Guang Ruey Tan, Xichen Sun, Michael Zhang, Mariya Gyaurova, Jaime Dominguez Bálgoma, Antonio Luca Coco, Costanza Cuccato, Matteo Artico, and Tomaso Maschietti
Concept Design::
Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries with Renske van der Stoep, Martine Vledder, Kyosuk Lee, Gerard Heerink, Chi Li, Francisco Pomares, Nicolas Lee, Claudia Bode, Sharon Sin, Jaap Baselmans, Herman Gaarman, Hui Hsin Liao, Antonio Luca Coco, Costanza Cuccato, Matteo Artico and Tomaso Maschietti
Co-architect:
Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute
Area:
33,700 sqm
Completion:
2017

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