Poised to become one of the largest libraries in China, the new Wuhan Central Library takes inspiration from its geographical positioning at the confluence of two rivers.
Just as the waters at the confluence of the Yangtze and Han rivers are pulled into a central channel, visitors are swept into the library as if into a monumental canyon, with sedimentary layers replaced by shelves of books.
The 140,000-square-meter project connects to its surroundings via three large openings that will act as visual displays of life inside the building, sparking curiosity and intrigue. This distinctive, three-faced flowing shape celebrates the position of the “city of 100 lakes” at the confluence of two rivers, and will become a new recognisable landmark for Wuhan.
Managed by Dutch architects MVRDV, the library celebrates the sculptural force of rivers, and is set to be the focus of a “city versus nature” exterior scene, with tall vertical windows looking out over Wuhan’s central business district, and a long horizontal windowed wall looking out on a large park coming as part of the project.
“The topography of Wuhan was an important source of inspiration: we have this idea of a horizontal view towards the lakes and on the other hand, we have this more vertical view towards the city with the high rises,” says Jacob van Rijs, founding partner of MVRDV on their website.
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“This is nature versus the city, and the building is somehow focusing on this. I think this makes it an exciting place to gather.”
Large native trees will shade exposed areas of the interior from Wuhan’s hot climate. The advantage of using native vegetation is that little maintenance is needed to support their growth.
Sets of angled slats fixed at regular intervals called “louvres” will coat the roof of the building to reduce heat absorption.
“Openable elements for natural ventilation, combined with the use of smart devices and an efficient lighting system further reduce the building’s energy demands, while solar panels incorporated into the library’s flowing roof shapes provide the building with renewable energy,” the architects’ website explains.
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Of all places to showcase at a time like this, Wuhan, and China. It may be a beautiful project but there are 195 countries in this world and you, for some odd reason, keep featuring China,not a positive force in the world at this time in history. I have heard enough about Wuhan to last me a lifetime. Please find other countries and other projects to present on Good News. I really can’t see the motive behind the continued articles about China. It is almost inexplicable that you should continue to present “positive” news about China.
“You, for some odd reason, keep featuring China” … “Keep featuring? We occasionally do, but I just looked and saw none in December and just one in November (2 in January). This points to your own rapt attention being given to the subject, and that’s why you “think” we “keep featuring China”… It’s the Law of Attraction: What you resist persists. You “can’t see the motive” because you don’t understand our mission: to showcase the cool, the beautiful, the kind —wherever they spring up.
You characterize our world in very negative terms… “at a time like this”… What you focus on expands in your world, so please try on some optimism, and see how it change. And for your mental health, stop watching Cable news. – From Geri, the GNN Founder
Christy, I want you to consider a few things because you’re clearly unhappy and it’s not good for you or the world. I would like you to take a deep breath and consider very strongly the possibility that the Chinese people are not the Chinese government. I don’t blame you for America’s war crimes in Iraq, because you and I aren’t our government either. China is a vast place filled with utterly hospitable people, who like you and I, just want to live a happy and peaceful life. They like so many other people around the world, are controlled by their government, but that’s not unique to them. Furthermore, this isn’t a story about the Chinese government. This is the story of a Dutch architecture firm being hired to produce a beautiful building.
There’s a Buddhist koan I want you to remember which is that “the one who holds a hot coal in their hand, only ends up being burned.” You say you have heard enough about Wuhan to last a lifetime. Then you’ve misunderstood our outlet’s mission which is to tell the positive side of every story.
In response to the comment above, I just want to thank GNN for reporting stories about China. At a time when so many US media outlets are focused on vilifying and spreading negativity about China, it’s really important to share positive stories about what is a beautiful country with many wonderful people and a fascinating, multifaceted culture.
It’s our pleasure, CSC!