Cina, is time for libraries

Filippo Fiandanese and Silvia Lantieri

2018

Fiandanese, Filippo and Lanteri, Silvia. 2018. “Cina, è tempo di biblioteche.” Il Giornale dell’Architettura, May 07, 2018

ISSN 2284-1369

In recent years – in China more than elsewhere – we can observe a clear attempt to influence the identity of places of new foundation, or under transformation, through the creation of monumental cultural buildings. The Tianjin Binhai library and its success represent something new in terms of use and resonance. In fact, most of the libraries recently built in China have a lower profile and a smaller size. The proposed examples are intended to show a great variety in expressive languages and dimensions – from the small interventions born in a rural community, to the landmark in a new town – and the landscape in which they are located: a forest, a beach, the skyscrapers of a city born from nothing, a university campus.