National Library of China

View of the main entrance to the library.

The Building

This winning design results from an international competition of nine invitees. A second building stage, it extends the Chinese National Library by 77,000 sq. mt. which accommodates 12 million books and provides services for 12,000 visitors per hour. The library's greatest treasure is the "Siku Quanshu" collection -- a catalogue of Chinese culture -- which is housed in a glass vault in the plinth of the library, and visible at all times. The design derives largely from this collection.

Interior view of the reading rooms in the library.

Surrounding the collection are the subsequent layers of cultural development; the larger space of a contemporary library with its reading rooms, equipment and reference library. Above, the "floating" roof houses the digital library synonymous with the electronic connection to the modern world. The symbolic layers of past, present and future are thus represented in the design of the library.

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