A LANDSCAPE FOR BOOK LOVERS
11 Sep 2017
The Book Garden in Tehran, Iran, offers a green-roofed venue that incorporates the world’s largest bookstore, together with 65,032 square metres of other public entertainment amenities.
A dream destination for fans of the written word, the Book Garden is a gigantic green-roofed building measuring 14,307 square metres that has 19 kilometres of shelves packed with millions of books. The project is part of a larger 65,032 square metres complex that features several movie theaters, science halls, classrooms, a prayer room and a restaurant.
The Book Garden aims to encourage Iranian children to be “active and creative through modern methods and equipment,” said Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. “The opening of the Book Garden is a big cultural event in the country, so that our children can make better use of this cultural and academic opportunity,” added Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. 
Mehr News reports that the Book Garden was first pitched in 2004 to cater to fans of the city’s annual International Book Fair. After construction was completed last spring, organisers spent the past few months stocking the facility with books. According to RealIran, there are more than 400,000 titles available for kids alone. One of the centres even has shorter shelves to ensure younger kids can reach the educational resources.
The Book Garden is now the biggest bookstore in the world, according to Guinness World Records, superseding the previous record held by Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue in New York City. 
