September 27, 2024

Habitat

A design to 'reinstate the library's relevance in the 21st century'

Photo by Yumeng Zhu.

"International studio Snøhetta has completed Beijing City Library in China, a glass-lined building filled with towering tree-like columns and rooms disguised as hills."

"Its design is based on natural landscapes and prioritizes helping visitors to connect to the outside, enticing them away from their screens."

"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." - Lizzie Crook

ARTICLE: Snøhetta Creates Library to Emulate Feeling of "Sitting Under a Tree"

Habitat

We forget that we are nature.

BOOK: Biophelia. The Human Bond with Other Species

Habitat

The buildings that last are the buildings that learn.

BOOK: How Buildings Learn

Habitat

We don’t build community. We build the conditions from which community emerges.

BOOK: Life Between Buildings. Using Public Space

Habitat

Why crappy buildings make us feel crappy

BOOK: Welcome to Your World. How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives