After winning the 2018 International Competition for The Library of The Sub-Center of Beijing, China, Sn hetta deepened the architectural, landscape and interior design of the project with the cooperation of the local design institute ECADI.
Construction of the project will begin in 2020. At present, the roof structure has been capped, and the ultra-high glass curtain wall of up to 16 meters is also being installed. This will be China's first ultra-high self-load-bearing glass curtain wall project.
Material: Double silver LOW-E tempered laminated hollow all-ultra white glass
Manufacturer: River curtain wall
The Beijing City Sub-Center Library celebrates public spaces for learning, information exchange, and social discussion. This large, shared space is the heart of the library and is dominated by a carved interior landscape. The surface of this majestic mountain covers and penetrates the entire library—it is both the earth, the seat, the bookshelf, the landscape, and more. The mountain landscape extends to the outdoors, defined by a highly transparent architectural curtain wall, and the magnificent indoor man-made landscape reveals its character to the public, shows the rich activities of the library interior, and invites readers into this inclusive public space.
The highly transparent façade of the building shows passers-by the spatial features and internal activities, inviting people to enter this spacious library.
Columns "grow" from the carved interior landscape and support the library roof, a canopy like a ginkgo forest. Each tree-like column is also an integrated building technology element, and the cavity inside the column houses the building technology system of climate control, lighting, acoustic performance, rainwater collection and so on.
The library's experiential spaces take place under expansive roofs and sculptural interior landscapes. Readers can find a quiet learning corner and a shared social space at all times. Under the eaves, there is a spatial experience of high and low, open and enclosed, private and public. The "boundless" design of public space conveys the boundlessness of knowledge, and everything in the space is open and accessible, which is a shared experience that belongs to every citizen.
The Beijing Urban Sub-Center Library will set new standards in the future of library design – from architectural and curtain wall technology, to social and environmental sustainability, to giving cultural spaces a sense of civic belonging. The library provides a contemporary and timeless space for public learning, while the building celebrates Beijing's rich historical, cultural and intellectual traditions, and celebrates the long cultural history of Beijing and China. The library is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.