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New library in the sub-center of Beijing (China), central valley.
Photo:Snøhetta-Plomp
The library in the sub-centre in Beijing, China, will house the inside a huge open space with staggered environments framed by a high-rise glass facade. Dozens of columns that simulate gigantic leaves of the gingko tree will support the roof, emulating a surreal forest.
The new Peking (Beijing) Subcenter Library in China, to be completed at the end of 2022, it will be It is clearly different from conventional libraries, and a reference for the design and construction technologies of future buildings of this type, according to the architecture firm Snøhetta.
It is a glass structure, whose interior houses a large open space with staggered environments, and a series of columns that support the roof and have a fan-shaped crown, like the leaves of the ginkgo, a kind of tree of hundreds millions of years old.
The linear, white columns, leaf-shaped but the size of tall trees, unfold at their tops in layers of abstract shapes, resembling as a whole a forest canopy: the upper stratum of the forest where they intersect the branches of the treetops creating a continuous cover.
They have projected it as “a library for the future” intended to establish new standards to make future buildings intended to store, conserve and catalog books and documents more sustainable, and allow the public to consult and read them in an orderly manner. Its exterior and interior design will be reminiscent of forest.
Beijing Subcenter Library aspires to set a new benchmark for future library design in such things as information technology. construction, enclosure and social and environmental sustainability, according to its designers, the Norwegian architecture studio Snøhetta, based in Oslo.
The glass enclosure, which surrounds the library, reaches 16 meters in height and is technically called “self-supporting glass facade”, being the first such structure in China, according to Snøhetta , which has developed the architectural, landscape and interior design of the building.
Due to this highly transparent facade, “the library reveals itself. it and its internal activities to passers-by, inviting them to enter”, they add.
This new contemporary and at the same time timeless public space was designed and created to learn and exchange knowledge and for open discussions as well. As if to celebrate Beijing’s heritage and rich cultural history of science, art and performance, explains Snøhetta (https://snohetta.com).
Upon entering the new library, visitors will feel that they arrive and enter a stylized forest built with modern materials, located in the middle of a natural wooded area. n read your favorite books, having the feeling of being happy. Beneath wooded foliage, occupying seats at reading tables or perching on stairs carved into hill-like elevations that punctuate the building’s central common space.
The large open space of the library is designed to bring people together, both spatially and intellectually, creating a landscape for accessing knowledge and experience distinctly different from those offered by conventional libraries, its designers explain.
This opening allows people to meet, interact and exchange knowledge in an area similar to the great amphitheater, and also in other similar open spaces distributed in different places throughout the entire building,
there “Visitors can find their private place while staying connected to the great common area,” according to Snøhetta.
Inside the building, a ‘central valley’ it forms the backbone of the library, serving as the main circulation space from the north side to the south side, and connecting people to all relevant spaces above and below the reading area.
A forest of knowledge
One of the sources of inspiration for this project is the ginkgo, one of the oldest known tree species and from which ginkgo biloba survives, which is used for medicinal purposes. Its leaves have a characteristic shape, with a long petiole and a fan-shaped, lobed blade.
Each column, white in color and more than fifty feet tall, has the appearance of a gigantic gingko leaf with a stylized design. Together, the upper layers of the columns form a roof or “false ceiling”, which resembles the canopy or upper stratum of a forest.
This cover encompasses the interior of the library (covering the shelves with books, the reading room and other sectors) and part of its outline, as it projects outwards as a projection on the four sides of the large rectangular building.
The design and colors of the interior and exterior columns differ slightly, but together they all emulate an allegorical architectural forest made up of dozens of gigantic gingko leaves, each one the size of a tree. or from a tree.
Extending from the sculpted reading area, the columns rise to support the ceiling, while also being components of a system of technologies involved in lighting, acoustic comfort, and noise elimination. n from rainwater.
Under the roof canopy and above the sculpted interior landscape, staggered areas make up an informal setting reminiscent of trees.< /p>
This environment invites people to sit down and take a break at any time during their journey through the building, which does not have sections designated for specific purposes or for certain categories of knowledge, according to the company. n Snøhetta.
The roof has integrated photovoltaic panels, which take advantage of its wide exposure to sunlight to produce energy, and has an overhang to reduce the increase in interior temperature due to the irradiation Solar, to which the facades also contribute, which function as thermal insulators and sun shades.