MVRDV’s Tianjin Binhai Public Library features
an atrium shaped like a giant eye – a fitting
symbol for a place to see and be seen.TIANJIN – The most prominent feature of
MVRDV’s Tianjin Binhai Public Library – its
atrium, shaped like a giant eye – alerts us to
one of the building’s main functions: a place
to see and be seen. According to MVRDV’s
Winy Maas, the library is phenomenally suc-
cessful in this role, attracting 500,000 visi-
tors in the first three weeks after its opening,
as well as a mountain of press coverage.
As a project underlining China’s devo-
tion to the city as spectacle, Tianjin Library
certainly fits the bill. Maas argues that it is
also in the mainstream of library develop-
ment. ‘Historically, libraries have been impor-
tant spaces of knowledge and social exchange,’
he says. ‘They bring together different disci-
plines and people of all ages and experiences.
In larger libraries, the atrium is traditionally
a space to talk, greet, meet and gather. The
digital can’t replace this social experience, so
perhaps library typologies will continue to
evolve, making them more welcoming, attrac-
tive and adaptable for future users.’
China has close to 3,000 public librar-
ies. In a country where internet penetra-
tion, at 50 per cent, is half that of Northern
Europe, such institutions have an important
function in increasing digital access. Nev-
ertheless books, far from being rendered
irrelevant by the digital age, play a starring
role at Tianjin Binhai Library. In an interior
composed of undulating shelves, the volumes
- 1.2 million of them –become an architec-
tural element, adding structure, detailing and
ribbons of rainbow colour to an otherwise
monochromatic design. » Ossip van Duivenbode
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