Construction of the captivating and enormous 34,200 square meter Tianjin Binhai Library is nearing completion.

The library, which was collaboratively designed by Dutch firm MVRDV and the Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute, surrounds "The Eye"; this is a mirrored sphere found at the heart of the development that also has an auditorium in the center.

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"The Eye hollows out the building and creates, out of bookshelves, an environment to sit, to read, to hang out, to climb and to access, to create an organic social space," Winy Maas, MVRDV co-founder, said. "The auditorium mirrors the environment, giving a 360^o panorama of the space inside; a truly reflective and pensive environment."

The library will have five floors, and each floor will be for different purposes, according to Global Construction Review.  For instance, the basement contains service spaces, book storage, and a large archive area. The ground floor will accommodate the young and the elderly as it offers easy-access reading areas.

Meanwhile, the first and second floors will have reading rooms, books and lounge areas. The last two floors will house meeting rooms, offices, and computers and audio rooms.

The library, which is a part of the Binhai Cultural Centre, hopes to serve "not only as an education centre but as a connector from the park into the cultural district."

The library will further join four other infrastructures, which are designed by Bernard Tschumi Architects, Bing Thom Architects and HH Design, to create the so-called cultural corridors. This project is headed by German architect GMP.

The Tianjin Binhai Library is expected to open its doors to the public by mid-2017. This is MVRDV's second project in Tianjin next to TEDA Urban Fabric, which was created in 2009, according to Dezeen.

TagsTianjin, MVRDV, Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute, Binhai Cultural Centre, Tianjin Binhai Library