China: a new library for Shanghai

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects is the winner of an international competition for the design of the new Shanghai Municipal Library in China.

Shanghai is currently the most populous city in the world with nearly 25 million inhabitants and curiously has a central library system dating back to 1847. It was therefore decided to build a new 110,000 sq meters. The district of Pudong, right next to the Century Park, the largest park in the city (140 ha).

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects designed the new building as a monolithic object floating above the canopy in the park. The main part of the library "floats" above 2 pavilions which will house a 1,200-seat theater, an exhibition and events hall and a children’s library. The whole will open towards a series of landscaped gardens. The library itself is organized around a large central atrium in the form of three shifted reading rooms.

The library is carved and twisted to reflect the surrounding park and sky, and clad in a clear glass front. The glass panels are arranged in horizontal inclined strips to minimize solar glare, and offer a panoramic unobstructed view of the park and the city.

The detailed design of the project should be finalized in the first half of 2017. The opening is planned for 2020.