Snøhetta’s Beijing City Library has opened its doors to the public, introducing a unique space for learning and knowledge-sharing in Beijing’s cultural scene. As one of the most anticipated projects of 2024, the library features the world's largest climatized reading space, in addition to various facilities aimed at creating a vibrant cultural destination in the city. Snøhetta was awarded the Beijing City Library in 2018 through an international competition and the project was completed with local partner ECADI.
Snøhetta saw the library as not just a repository of books, but rather a center for learning, culture, and community. The design of the space follows this concept, integrating areas for conferences, exhibitions, performances, and the restoration of ancient books. Instead of seeing libraries as a typology of the past, the project set out to explore their potential for nurturing an ‘emotional connection between books, people, and the natural landscape beyond.’
The Beijing City Library blends the natural landscape with the architecture. At its center, a 16-meter-tall forum welcomes visitors and serves as the main circulation artery within the building. Surrounded by curved stepped terraces, the forum mirrors the landscape of the nearby Tonghui River. The terraces serve as an informal zone for relaxing, talking, or reading while staying connected to the larger space. Smaller semi-private reading areas are embedded into the ‘hills.’This interior landscape sits under a canopy-like roof inspired by the ginkgo trees, bringing in daylight through the small openings between the petals. Real ginkgo trees at the entrances further enhance the natural ambiance, celebrating Beijing's heritage through the integration of reading, performance, and landscape.
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It is the love people have for books that has made libraries survive the digital age and hold new potential to give back more to the city and its public. It is up to us to reinterpret the relationship between body, mind, and the surroundings to rekindle the joy of reading away from the screen. Libraries are here to stay. - Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Co-Founder and Partner at Snøhetta.
The project strives to address climate challenges by incorporating technologies to minimize the building’s embodied and operational carbon footprint. It employs modular components with a rationalized structural grid to reduce manufacturing waste. A single module is used for the ginkgo tree columns, which are rotated to create the appearance of variety. The columns are also fitted with climate control technologies, including lighting, acoustics control, and rainwater collection. The glazed openings are adjusted per the sun exposure, while the roof has integrated photovoltaic elements to ensure renewable energy production.
The role libraries play in society and the way people use them has vastly changed. They are now needed to function as vibrant community spaces, enabling social interaction and knowledge-sharing. - Robert Greenwood, Partner and Director of Asia Pacific at Snøhetta
Snøhetta has also recently revealed images showing the progress of construction progress at the Shanghai Grand Opera House in China, due to open in 2025. The internationally recognized office is also expected to complete the Čoarvemátta cultural and educational facility, currently under construction in Northern Norway, before the end of this year. In terms of cultural venues, Snøhetta has unveiled the design for a new opera house to be added to the historic area of Diriyah in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library in North Carolina.
