Save up to $1,322 on our trips! Limited spots. Book Now.

This Incredible New Library Is the Best Spot for Book Lovers Ever

Tianjin Binhai Public Library
Tianjin Binhai Public Library | © Ossip van Duivenbode

Tianjin, China, has just become one of the world’s top destination for bookworms thanks to what is quite possibly the most amazing library space on the planet.

Designed by Rotterdam-based, powerhouse Dutch design firm MVRDV, the 33,700-square-metre Tianjin Binhai Public Library is a feast for the eyes as much as for the soul. Commissioned as part of a new cultural district in the Chinese coastal city, the atrium of the building has been built to look like a giant 3D eyeball, staring out into the street through the glazed glass facade.

Tianjin Binhai Public Library

The library, which miraculously took only three years to build from first sketch to site opening, is a whopping five storeys tall and is entirely covered in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves swirling and curving across various levels, to form the shape of an eye-socket. The pupil of the eye is formed by what looks like glowing disco ball in the centre of one of the rooms.

Tianjin Binhai Public Library

The curved bookshelves provide many sleek nooks and crannies in which to cuddle up with your favourite book. Stairways also snake their way up through the shelves, giving visitors access to the different floors.

Tianjin Binhai Public Library

This incredible building is one of five recent commissions by the city’s Urban Planning and Design Institute, which is hoping to reinvigorate Tianjin with a cultural urban centre. By the looks of the library, design lovers will find heaven next time they visit Tianjin.

Tianjin Binhai Public Library
Tianjin Binhai Public Library
Tianjin Binhai Public Library

About the author

Born and raised in LA, India studied Drama at the University of Southern California before shifting her focus to the visual arts. After moving to London in 2013, she co-founded the iOS app ArtAttack which focused on connecting emerging artistic talent with galleries and collectors. Following that she worked at Albany Arts Communications, a boutique Art PR firm in Fitzrovia before joining Culture Trip. Aside from art and theatre, India's other passions include travel, food, books and dance.

close-ad