Snøhetta has designed the Beijing City Libray in Beijing, China.

The Beijing City Library boasts the "world’s largest climatised reading space", leveraging innovative technology for an enhanced visitor experience and environmental responsibility.

The design invites nature in through sculpted interior landforms inspired by Beijing's natural heritage. A diversity of informal zones, reading areas, and conference rooms position the building as a centre for learning, culture, and community, reinstating the relevance of libraries in the digital age.

Located in Beijing's new sub-centre of Tongzhou, the Beijing City Library is one of three new major cultural buildings. At the heart of the glass-lined building is a sweeping, nearly 16-meter-tall welcoming forum off of which rise stepped terraces follow smooth, rhythmic curves and a central meandering pathway known as the Valley.

Serving as the main circulation artery, the Valley mirrors the course of the nearby Tonghui River, seamlessly continuing the experience of the landscape beyond and linking the north and south entrances to lead visitors to all other spaces inside.

This project has been shortlisted in the civic project category of Dezeen Awards China 2024.

Studio: Snøhetta
Project: Beijing City Library
Credits: Beijing Planning and Natural Resource Bureau and ECADI