Snøhetta has just unveiled its latest architectural masterpiece in Beijing- the Beijing City Library. This library has finally opened to the public after going for five years of construction and is ready to impress every visitor with its unexceptional design. As the contemporary hub for learning, knowledge-sharing, social interaction, and community engagement, the Beijing City Library boasts the world's largest climatized reading space and China's largest load-bearing glass system. It leverages innovative technology for an enhanced visitor experience and environmental responsibility.

The Beijing City Library by Snøhetta, Photo by Yumeng Zhu 

The Beijing City Library acts as the contemporary hub for learning, knowledge-sharing, social interaction, and community engagement, Photo by Yumeng Zhu 

Located in a designated sub-center of Beijing, Tongzhou District, this library establishes the area as a vibrant district and an extension of Beijing's urban fabric. It anchors the neighborhood's ambitious master plan and will help to catalyze its transformation from a relatively undeveloped area into a lively arts and cultural destination.

The presence of the Beijing City Library helps to turn the area into a vibrant district, Photo by Yumeng Zhu 

The library's interior design imitates the winding path of the Tonghui River's Valley. A central forum with a sculpted interior landform of stepped terraces with a nearly 16-meter tall ceiling creates a versatile communal space where visitors can chat, read, or unwind. Amidst the stepped terraces, the hills rise from the ground to house semi-private reading areas and conference rooms, while book stacks and table seating are found on long, flat areas.

Inside is a sculpted interior landform of stepped terraces with a nearly 16-meter tall ceiling, Photo by Yumeng Zhu 

The glass-lined building allows nature to flow inside and enables the enriched interior environment to be seen from outside. To bridge the gap between the scale of the Valley and the books, tall and thin columns that expand into flat panels resembling ginkgo leaves are used. This is a nod to a 290 million-year-old tree species indigenous to China. The overlapped panels and interstitial glass inserts generate a canopy-like roof that fills the interiors with filtered daylight.

The glass-lined building allows nature to flow inside, Photo by Yumeng Zhu 

Beneath the ginkgo canopy, visitors can reach the summit overlooking the valley of books and the horizon of the vast landscape beyond. The hills at the building's northern and southern edges, where actual ginkgo trees are planted at the entry points, enhance the connection with nature by directing views outwards.

Beneath the ginkgo canopy, visitors can reach the summit overlooking the valley of books, Photo by Yumeng Zhu 

Besides its exceptional design, this library also achieved China's GBEL Three Star, the highest attainable sustainability standard in the country, by minimizing both embodied and operational carbon, making it a certified sustainable building. Various approaches were applied to the design, including the passive and active design, to provide a sustainable community space. 

The Beijing City Library applies a sustainable design, Photo by Yumeng Zhu 

Through its expansive glass walls, natural light can easily penetrate through and flood the interior with abundant light, minimizing the use of artificial lighting. The use of modular components and a rationalized structural grid reduces manufacturing waste. Advanced technology, such as using a roof that has integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) construction elements for renewable energy production, makes this building more sustainable and minimizes the carbon emitted from it.

Featuring advanced technology to enhance the building's sustainability, Photo by Yumeng Zhu 

Source: www.snohetta.com/projects/beijing-city-library 

Images credited to Yumeng Zhu