The Tianjin Binhai Library, a collaborative design by MVRDV and the Tianjin Planning and Design Institute, is set to become a key feature of the city’s cultural center. Positioned between a park and the cultural district, this building will serve not only as a bustling educational hub but also as a bridge connecting nature with urban life.
An oval-shaped opening cuts through the building like a giant eye, gazing outward to the city. At the heart of the spacious hall sits a spherical auditorium, reflecting the calm indoor environment and the lush greenery of the adjacent park, creating a rich spatial hierarchy. The stepped bookshelves echo the shape of the sphere, rising dramatically to form a landscape reminiscent of rolling hills. This layered bookshelf design extends to the building’s facade, where it transforms into louvers that filter harsh sunlight.
At the core of the Tianjin Binhai Library is the mirrored lecture hall — the building’s symbolic “eye.” This vast interior space is lined with towering bookshelves that not only hold thousands of books but also create various areas designed for resting, reading, relaxing, climbing, and navigating through the library. It is a vibrant and dynamic public environment.
Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV, explains, “The mirrored sphere at the center reflects the surrounding environment, offering a 360-degree panoramic view. It creates a truly reflective and contemplative space.”
The futuristic corrugated staircase narrows as it ascends, forming a dome-like space reminiscent of a church vault that connects all levels from top to bottom. In the future, four adjacent public buildings designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects, Bing Thom Architects, Huahui Design, and GMP will complete this area, creating a remarkable “cultural corridor.”
The library’s five above-ground floors house various educational facilities, while the basement includes logistics, book storage, and archival spaces. The ground floor, easily accessible, contains reading areas for children and the elderly, with the main entrance connecting to various internal zones. The spherical auditorium occupies the central space, while the tiered bookshelves guide visitors forward. Multiple reading rooms and rest areas with extensive book collections are distributed across the second and third floors. The top two floors are dedicated to conference rooms, offices, computer labs, and audiovisual rooms.
Covering an area of 120,000 square meters, the Binhai Cultural Center, designed by GMP, aims to highlight the distinctive characteristics of the Binhai New Area. The Tianjin Library is an essential part of this vision.
Upon completion, the building will serve as the intersection point of the central business district, the old city, residential neighborhoods, commercial zones, and administrative areas. It will fill the functional gaps currently present in each region. The building’s overall volume is shaped by the master plan, while the “eye” and surrounding interior spaces transform it into a semi-open public area — a reverse sign that becomes the heart and focal point of the structure.
This will be MVRDV’s second project in Tianjin. Their first, completed in 2009, was the tranquil Economic and Technological Development Zone, featuring 280,000 square meters of high-rise and low-rise residential and retail complexes.
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