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The Eye – Tianjin Binhai New Area Library
The Eye is a library in Tianjin, China. It is a part of the Binhai Cultural Center, being one its five central attractions.
The five-level library has a total space of 33.700 square metres and the shelves to accommodate the books occupy the entire height of the walls: the terraced bookschelves are able to hold 1.2 million books.
On the middle of the library there is a large, lumous sphere that serves as an auditorium with a capacity of about 100 people.
The library is nicknamed “The Eye” because the sphere, which appears like an iris, can be seen from the park outside through an eye-shaped opening.
The first and second floors contain mainly lounge areas and reading rooms. The floors above have computer rooms, meeting rooms, and offices. There are also two rooftop patios.
It may curios to notice that the main atrium cannot be used for book storage. The rooms providing access to the upper tiers of shelving were not built and book spines were printed onto the backs of the shelf space for the opening-day.
The library is designed by the Rotterdam-based architecture studio MVRD, together with the Tianjing Urban Planning and Design Institute (TUPDI), a group of local architects. It opened in October 2017.
Ph. © Ossip van Duivenbode – Source: Greenbuilding Magazine
