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e library itself is part of a larger master plan commis- sioned by the Tianjin Binhai Municipality and designed by an international team of architects including Bernard Tschumi Architects, Bing om Architects, HH Design and GMP. Five buildings will showcase the city's cultural power and increase tourism, covering up to 1.3 million square feet. e plan includes a show center with 1,400 seats, an experimental theatre with a comprehensive multi-pur- pose area, an exploration hall to display architectural art and industrial design, a citizen ac- tivity center with public service facilities, a cultural corridor with public space and trans- portation, and its focal point, the Tianjin Binhai Library. (All five buildings are connected by a public corridor with a glass canopy designed by GMP.) As part of the Binhai Cul- tural Center, the Tianjin Bin- hai Library is the brainchild of architectural design firm MVRDV (based in Rotterdam, Netherlands) in collaboration with Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute (TUPDI). "We responded to the need for a unique library building that is within a zone of five unique architectural gems by Bernard Tschumi Architects, Bing om Architects and HH Design," Maria Lopez, a senior project leader at MVRDV, told me. In addition to this, and due to constraints in scheduling, the project sped through the design phase to construction in less than three years. Where a project this scale would typ- ically take 10 years or more to finish, the completion of the library was truly remarkable. e doors to the Tianjin Binhai Library officially opened in the summer of 2017. e Library stands as the most prominent feature of the five cultural buildings, boast- B Y L O A N N I E D A O | P H O T O S B Y J ust outside Beijing, China is a quieter city known as Tianjin. As a major port in the northeastern region of the country, the city is accessible through a high- speed train that covers roughly 70 miles from Beijing in less than 35 minutes. Tianjin is colored with foreign influence which can be seen through its assortment of churches and villas. However, it is not the beautiful facades of historical buildings that bring visitors to the province. Rather, it is the unique topography and breathtaking bookshelves of the Tianjin Binhai Library that is generating much buzz. VUE ON | DESIGN 64 VUENJ.COM

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