All-white and futuristic: Tianjin’s stunning new library looks out of this world

The hottest new tourist attraction in Tianjin, China?

A public library.

But this ain’t your average book lender.

Featuring an all-white futuristic design and a luminous spherical auditorium, the new 33,700-square-meter structure has been attracting bumper crowds since it opened in October.

Tianjin Binhai Library is one of the five main attractions in the Binhai Cultural Center, the city’s new recreational district.

‘The eye’ and a ‘book mountain’

Binhai Library is also nicknamed The Eye.

The eye-shaped atrium space of the library is designed to be a “new urban living room,” says Dutch architect firm MVRDV, which devised it alongside Tianjin’s Urban Planning Design Institute.

“The eye is a recognizable feature of the design visible from inside and outside but also a fully functioning atrium with a capacity of 110,” an MVRDV spokesperson tells CNN.

The curvy contours surrounding the auditorium house bookshelves. There’s a “book mountain” that also acts as stairs and seating.

The library advises that readers under the age of 14, those who wear heels and those who aren’t fit for hiking should avoid the book mountain.

Why build a library that requires a mini-workout?

“We want to develop new typologies for all our cultural projects, a place that inspires users and also promotes and celebrates – in this case – reading,” says MVRDV’s spokesperson.

A popular attraction

Architecture firm MVRDV wants to create an urban living room for Tianjin.

When pictures of the library, dubbed the “most beautiful library in China,” were shared on social media sites, thousands of visitors flocked to see the new landmark.

Queues stretch outside the library at weekends.

The library received about 10,000 visitors per day during the first week of opening and has welcomed up to 18,000 visitors on some weekends.

It’s not the first MVRDV project to win over the internet. Some of its previous works include the whimsical Suffolk’s Balancing Barn and Rotterdam’s Market Hall, which have also become popular Instagram spots.

But this project is MVRDV’s fastest to date.

It took just three years to build – from the first sketch to the opening – due to a tight construction schedule set by local officials.

Because of that, the firm was forced to give up one of its original designs: access to the upper bookshelves from rooms placed behind the atrium.

The bookshelves closer to the ceiling are now inaccessible and are replaced by perforated aluminum plates instead.

Visitors have also complained about the lack of actual books in the atrium.

Most of the shelves in the atrium are plastered with images of book spines instead of actual books. Visitors have to head to the more traditional sections of the library for the real thing.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires —

In a beautiful cross-pollination of the arts, one of the world's most stunning places to read isn't even a library -- it's a theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Designed by Pero and Torres Arngol, the El Ateneo Grand Splendid started life as a stage for the performing arts in 1919, then a cinema. Once upon a time live tango played from an orchestra underneath silent movies. Now it's a majestic bookstore, complete with frescoes, balconies and original red curtains.

Waanders In de Broeren, Zwolle, The Netherlands —

If libraries are cathedrals of learning, then it's not a huge stretch to place a bookshop in a church. Waanders In de Broeren in Zwolle sits within a converted 15th century Dominican church. The refit builds in three floors but pays respect to the original vaulted ceiling, while architects BK. Architecten transformed the building's transepts into reading rooms, complete with stained glass windows.

Strahov Abbey library, Prague, Czech Republic —

Dr James Campbell of Cambridge University and renowned architecture photographer Will Pryce have together compiled The Library: A World History, the most complete account of library buildings to date. Here Campbell and Pryce take us on a virtual journey through some of their favorites.

Interviews by Milena Veselinovic

Tripitaka Koreana, Haeinsa Temple, South Korea —

Will Pryce: "Visiting this library was an extraordinary, if fraught, experience. We hiked up a mountain only to be told that we weren't allowed to photograph the interior. Fortunately we had a Korean student of James's with us who pleaded with the Abbott and little by little we negotiated our way in. First we could take a picture through the door, then from just inside and so on. The collection is revelatory because you realize that you are looking, not at books, but printing blocks and that they date from 1251 - reminding us that the Koreans were printing for centuries before Gutenberg."

Tianyi Chamber, Ningbo, China —

James Campbell: "This is the oldest surviving Chinese library, dating from 1561. It is very dark because you were not intended to read inside, but to take your book to the garden or perhaps your room. The books have since been removed so this is the last picture that will ever be taken with the books on the their original shelves."

The Peabody Library, Baltimore, U.S. —

Will Pryce: "This is an extraordinary space, a temple to the industrial age which creates an almost cathedral-like effect. There are thousands of books wherever you look and gorgeous ornate balustrades. Despite all the classical details it's actually made of iron and spans the weight of this huge library above the concert hall below."

Biblioteka Malatestiana, Cesena, Italy —

James Campbell: "This is the closest you can get to what a medieval library looked like. It was built for Malatesta Novello, a member of a prominent Italian aristocratic family, and it still contains original books, in their original places."

Merton College Library, Oxford, UK —

James Campbell: "Although the building was completed in 1373 and is one of the oldest academic libraries in the world still in continuous daily use, the fittings date from the late sixteenth century. It is less ornate than Rococo libraries in palace or monastery complexes, because universities did not have access to the same amount of money, but it is still extraordinarily beautiful."

Biblioteca Marciana, Venice, Italy —

Will Pryce: "It's an extraordinary piece of design, a statement of confidence by the Venetian Republic. It lies at the center of Jacopo Sansovino's scheme to re-design St Mark's square, though the building was completed after his death. The vestibule houses the Grimani collection of classical sculpture under a ceiling by Titian. While the original lecterns have gone, the superb interior design of the library gives us a sense of the richness of Venetian cultural life in this period."

The Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK —

Will Pryce: "Arts End is one of most lovely corners of the group of libraries that constitute the Bodleian. Under the galleries there are little desks where readers face the bookshelves of one of the earliest wall-system libraries."

Admont Abbey library, Admont, Austria —

James Campbell: "This is one of the largest monastic libraries ever built. The whole thing is a complete work of art. The corridors and staircase that leads to it is relatively simple, so when you enter this stunning space flooded with light there is almost a moment of revelation, a theatrical effect. There are no desks to work at because these library rooms were never intended for study, but for impressing visitors. The books were taken back to the monks' warm cells to be read. It was built in 1776, a piece de resistance of rococo design."

Philips Exeter Academy Library, New Hampshire, U.S. —

James Campbell: "This is perhaps the largest high school library ever constructed. From the outside it looks like a severe brick box punctured by windows. The inside is completely different. The main space rises the whole height of the building and the bookcases are behind the dominating concrete structure. Students can read with privacy on carrels next to the windows which they can decorate with their own possessions."

Biblioteca Joanina, Coimbra, Portugal —

Will Pryce: "This is a very imposing library from a time when Portugal was extremely wealthy and powerful. It is very dark but features intricate gold leaf which gives it magical luminosity. The backs of the bookcases each have different color, and there are integrated ladders that pull out, and secret doors that lead to reading rooms."

The Escorial Library, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain —

WIill Pryce: "This library was ground-breaking. It established the template of using books to decorate the walls of the library which we've been using ever since. The great hall is a harmonious combination of bookshelves, books and a wonderful painted ceiling. It was complete by 1585 and influenced everything that followed it."

Mafra Palace Library, Mafra, Portugal —

James Campbell: "The Mafra Palace Library in Mafra, Portugal is at 88 meters the longest Rococo monastic library in the world. Sadly the original designs are lost but we think it would have been covered in gold leaf with an ornate painted ceiling. However, because the construction lasted from 1717 to 1771, by the time it was completed a simplified decoration was adopted. The library also hosts a colony of bats who come out at night to feed on the insects who would otherwise eat the books."

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, New Haven, U.S. —

James Campbell: "Outside it looks like a white box, so there is an element of surprise when you go in. All light comes through the stones in the wall, and the honey-color trickle of sun rays makes it magical. It is one of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The elegance of the Beinecke later inspired the glass-walled structure that holds the original core collection of the British Library."

Utrecht University Library, Utrecht, Holland —

Will Pryce: "This is best solution I have seen to the problems of building a library on a contemporary scale. From the outside it's a simple rectangle but inside a series of voids have been opened up creating a complete variety of spaces to work. There are secluded areas for those who like to be surrounded by books and more open ones for those who prefer to be around people. It seemed hugely popular with the students."

Shhh! Inside the world's most beautiful places to read

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Binhai Cultural Center

The new Binhai Cultural Center, spanning 90 hectares, is a major project initiated by the Tianjin government to showcase the city’s cultural power and boost tourism.

Phase one of the Central Center was open to the public last month, together with the library.

The four other cultural buildings are the Binhai Modern Art Museum, the Binhai Modern City and Industrial Discovery Museum, the Binhai Performing Arts Center and the Binhai Performing Arts Center – all designed by famed firms including Bernard Tschumi Architects, Bing Thom Architects and HH Design.

The buildings are connected by a public corridor with a glass canopy designed by GMP.

Want to check it out yourself? Tianjin, a major port city in northeast China, is about 115 kilometers from Beijing. High-speed trains, which operate regularly between the two cities, cover the distance in about 35 minutes.

Binhai Library, Tianjin Binhai Cultural Center, Tianjin; opens Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.