WORLD'S COOLEST LIBRARY DAZZLES

Tianjin sensation commands national plaudits, wins rave reviews from global media

Since its opening just over 12 months ago, Binhai Library in Tianjin Binhai New Area has quite literally become one of the city's biggest star attractions - and won itself a global fan base.

It welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors over the past year, according to library staff.

They included readers from Tianjin and neighboring regions, as well as sightseeing tourists from all over the country, and now the dynamic facility has attracted international attention.

"The library has become a new attraction for Binhai as well as the entire Tianjin municipality," said library curator Zhang Huifeng.

Its universal popularity with tourists was confirmed by US magazine Time, when it announced in August its annual list of "the world's greatest places to visit" which included Binhai Library.

As the entries of the list spanned six continents and 48 countries, the library was selected based on key factors including quality, originality, innovation, sustainability and influence, according to the magazine.

"That library, the Tianjin Binhai Library, has become nothing short of an Instagram sensation since opening late last year," Time wrote.

World's coolest library

The unlikely sensation has also caught the attention of other media across the world.

BoredPanda, a renowned photo website based in the United States, said it is "the world's coolest library" as the beauty of its interior structure can "take your breath away".

British newspaper the Daily Telegraph called it the "ultimate library" for its futuristic design.

The popularity of the library comes from its novel, futuristic design.

The six-floor facility, with a total floor space of 33,700 square meters, was designed by Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, based in Rotterdam, along with the local Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute.

Because of the tight build schedule of the project commissioner - the Tianjin Binhai New Area government - the project went from preliminary drawings to completion within three years and it opened its doors in October 2017.

The library features floor-to-ceiling terraced bookshelves able to store 1.2 million books, and a large, luminous sphere in the center that serves as an auditorium with a capacity for 110 people. The library is nicknamed "the eye" because of its sphere, which looks like a giant iris and can be seen from the park outside through an eye-shaped opening.

The first and second floors mainly feature lounge areas and reading rooms. The floors above have computer rooms, meeting rooms and offices. There are also two rooftop terraces.

"We opened up the building by creating a beautiful public space inside," said Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV.

"The bookshelves are great spaces to sit and at the same time they allow access to the upper floors. The angles and curves are meant to stimulate different uses of the space, such as for reading, walking, meeting and discussions."

He said the eye was the center of the library.

"It 'hollows out' the building and creates, out of bookshelves, an environment to sit, read, hang out, climb and to access, creating an organic social space," Maas said, adding that "in its heart is the auditorium which mirrors the environment, giving a 360 degree panorama of the space inside; a truly reflective and pensive environment."

Great hit

Since its opening on Oct 1 last year, the building has been a great hit with the Chinese media, especially social media.

In the first week, so many people came - about 10,000 a day - that long queues formed outside.

In the months that followed, daily visits topped 20,000 during public holidays, such as the National Day golden week.

Visitors were from Tianjin and the neighboring regions.

"I planned to visit the library as it's been such a great sensation in the media, especially WeChat and Weibo, since its opening," said Beijing visitor Li Xianrong, who came during this year's National Day holiday in early October.

"Actually seeing the library was a bigger surprise for me than the images I saw on the websites," Li said.

"It's an ideal place to take pictures," she added.

Another visitor even contemplated moving in.

"The library is such a great place for relaxation that I want to put up a tent there to stay one or two days," said Shan Shiqiang, also from Beijing.

"But I don't know whether this is allowed," he joked.

Curator Zhang Huifeng said the library had received a great number of "sightseeing visitors".

"It's true that during the first days of its opening, many people came here for taking photos and posting them on their WeChat accounts, to share with their friends," she said.

"We are happy to see the rapidly growing number of visitors, even if they are just here for relaxing and taking pictures," Zhang said.

But she noted that this kind of adoration was not enough for a library.

"We hope the library mostly attracts those who really love to read," Zhang said.

Reader-friendly

Zhang said the compelling design of the library was meant to offer convenience and a comfortable experience to readers, while the beauty of the building that is so attractive to sightseers is a "pleasant added value".

Her view is shared by many local readers.

Bao Yue, a Tianjin resident, is a frequent visitor.

"The biggest surprise is the titanic, terraced book shelf that stands floor-to-ceiling," she said.

"It really takes my breath away every time I see it," Bao said.

She believes it offers the greatest convenience to readers compared to many libraries she has visited.

"You can take a book out of the shelf and sit down on one of the terraces and you will find reading is so amazingly easy," she said.

She said it was pity that many layers of the shelf are still empty at this moment.

Bao said she understood it takes time to fill up such a huge book shelf and she believes the number of books will increase as time goes on, "till the highest layer of the book shelf is filled".

Curator Zhang said that the number of readers will grow with the library's improving facilities and services, as well its increasing influence.

Over the past year, Binhai Library has seen about 1 million books borrowed by readers, Zhang said.

The curator said the library's novel and futuristic design, as well as its function as a relaxing and refreshing public space, had attracted enough attention for its looks.

Focus on essence

"Indeed, we should focus on its essence as a library, offering a topnotch reading experience to the visitors," Zhang said.

She said the authorities of Binhai New Area expected to make the library an excellent example of the high-quality and high-level cultural services that Binhai can provide to its residents and tourists as well.

"According to the requirements of the government, we have proposed 10 measures to upgrade the services and facilities of the library," Zhang said.

One of the measures is to enrich the collections in the library.

According to Zhang, a total of 312,000 books and 80 foreign-language newspapers have been added to the library during the past year.

It has also developed a digital library, which now stores 50 terabytes of documents in written, video and audio forms.

There are also sections for rare and ancient books and local historical documents, according to Zhang.

She said Binhai Library is cooperating with other libraries in the Binhai New Area to share resources.

"To expand our services to the entire Binhai (area), we have set up a number of branches to offer better access to more residents," Zhang said.

The curator said suburban and rural areas are the focus of the library's branching-out strategy, because of "the relative scarcity of cultural facilities there".

To date, Binhai Library has built 18 branch libraries and about 300 service outlets in these areas, according to Zhang.

Leveraging its resources, Zhang said the library has organized a range of activities and events for readers.

"We have invited renowned scholars in Tianjin and from the rest of the country to give lectures here, to share their insights with readers," Zhang said.

There are also voluntary campaigns to nurture residents' interest in reading.

She said the library is offering regular training to staff to raise their awareness for better services.

The curator said Binhai Library will also enhance cooperation with counterparts in China and overseas to learn from their experiences in management and share resources, aiming to build the library into a brilliant cultural brand for Binhai and Tianjin as a whole.

zhaoshijun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/21/2018 page12)