The library is located in the 33,700m2 cultural centre of Binhai district in Tianjin, a coastal metropolis outside Beijing, China. It features a luminous spherical auditorium around which floor-to-ceiling bookcases cascade. The undulating bookshelf is the building's main spatial device, and is used both to frame the space and to create stairs and seating, the layered ceiling and even louvres on the façade. The Library was designed and built in a record-breaking time of only three years and offers space for 1.2 million books.
The library is one amongst a cluster of five cultural buildings designed by an international cadre of architects including Bernard Tschumi Architects, Bing Thom Architects, HH Design, and MVRDV. All buildings are connected by a public corridor underneath a glass canopy designed by GMP.
The building's mass extrudes upwards from the site and is 'punctured' by a spherical auditorium in the centre. Bookshelves are arrayed on either side of the sphere and act as everything, from stairs to seating, even continuing along the ceiling to create an illuminated topography. These contours also continue along the two full glass facades that connect the library to the park outside and the corridor inside, serving as louvres to protect the interior against excessive sunlight whilst also creating a bright and evenly lit interior.
The bookshelves are great spaces to sit and at the same time allow access to the upper floors. The angles and curves are meant to stimulate different uses of the space, such as reading, walking, meeting and discussing.
The five-level building also contains extensive educational facilities, arrayed along the edges of the interior and accessible through the main atrium space. Public program is supported by sub-terranean service spaces, book storage, and a large archive. From the ground floor, visitors can easily access reading areas for children and the elderly, the auditorium, the main entrance, terraced access to the floors above, and connection to the cultural complex. The first and second floors consist primarily of reading rooms, books and lounge areas whilst the upper floors include meeting rooms, offices, computer and audio rooms and two rooftop patios. Cleaning is done via ropes and movable scaffolding.
Tianjin Binhai Library was built according to the Chinese Green Star energy efficiency label and has achieved two star status. MVRDV collaborated with Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute (TUPDI), structural engineers Sanjiang Steel Structure Design, TADI interior architects and Huayi Jianyuan lighting design.
