MVRDV Completes Tianjin Binhai Library in China

MVRDV has completed the Tianjin Binhai Library in China, part of a cultural complex in Tianjin that also includes buildings by Bernard Tschumi Architects. The five-story library features a luminous spherical auditorium called the 'Eye,' from which curved lines radiate across floors and ceilings, creating an enveloping interior landscape. These lines define shelving for over one million books, with some shelves doubling as stairs or seating. The basement houses the central archive and service rooms, while upper floors contain reading rooms, meeting spaces, lounges, offices, and multimedia areas. The exterior facade is interrupted to form eyelids around the central sphere, resembling an eye. The library was designed in collaboration with TUPDI (Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute). MVRDV, founded in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob Van Rijs, and Nathalie De Vries, recently completed the Seoul 7017 Skygarden, a former elevated highway turned green space.