READING UNDER A TREE

Located inthe Beijing's Tongzhou district, the Beijing City Library was designed by Snøhetta to emulate natural landscapes and prioritises helping visitors connect to the outside, enticing them away from their screens. "The terraced landscape and tree-like columns invite visitors to lift their gaze and focus at a distance, taking in the bigger picture," said Snøhetta partner Robert Greenwood.

At the heart of Beijing City Library is Valley, a 16-metre-tall atrium filled with a series of hill-like mounds that are lined with tiered seating, stairs and bookshelves. A winding walkway runs through its centre, intended to evoke the nearby Tonghui river and serves as the library's main circulation space, linking its north and south entrances.

"The terraced hills rising from the Valley are designed to create a sculpted interior landform that serves as the ground, seating, and shelving – an informal zone with opportunities to relax, talk, or read quietly, all while staying connected to the larger space," said Snøhetta. Beneath the hilly mounds are a series of private areas for reading and conferences, and parts of the mounds are flattened to house tables.

Supporting the roof are tall, slender columns that split into flat panels at their peak. These are modelled on the leaves of a ginkgo tree – a 290-million-year-old species that is native to China – to form a ceiling that resembles a canopy. The columns have a modular design, developed to reduce material waste and integrate technologies such as lighting, acoustics, and rainwater collection. Outside, real ginkgo trees have been planted at the entry points, framed by the glass walls to further enhance the connection with nature.

The roof itself has integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) construction elements to generate renewable energy. The overall design has achieved China's GBEL Three Star – the highest rating in the green building certification.

The studio concluded that it hopes the project can help restore the importance of libraries as community spaces, rather than merely a repository of books. "It is the love people have for books that has made libraries survive the digital age and hold new potential to give back more to the city and its public," said the studio's co-founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen.

Photography by Yumeng Zhu, via dezeen