Tainan Public Library, Taiwan Building, Design, Taiwanese Architecture, Images

Tainan Public Library in Taiwan

Taiwanese Architecture Project design by Mecanoo and MAYU

6 + 2 Jun 2017

Tainan Public Library Building

Design: Mecanoo and MAYU

Location: Tainan, Taiwan

Tainan Public Library, Tainan

Tainan is a city born from a history of diverse cultures, peoples and traditions. The urban fabric holds memories from the 17th century European maritime trading, the Qing Dynasty Ruling, and the Japanese settlement of the early 1900s.

On top of its rich history, modern Tainan is developing as a central city in the knowledge-based economy. The new library is a built expression of the social, cultural and traditional facets that have amalgamated to form the city of Tainan.

Stepped facade
Mecanoo and MAYU’s design for the Tainan Public Library represents the meeting of cultures, generations and histories. Rational yet elegant structural lines and a sensitive use of light and shadow characterise the building’s timeless design. Reaching up into the sky, the building’s perimeter increases on each level.

The result is a large canopy that provides shade to the transparent stepped facade and below-grade courtyards. Around the perimeter of the Lower Ground Floor is an outdoor children’s play area. A floor-to-ceiling glazed wall creates a visual connection between the play area and indoor children’s reading room.

A sunken plaza on the same level is a multifunctional outdoor space for hosting talks, exhibitions or social gatherings. With a café adjacent, it is designed as a social destination for curious minds, creating a peaceful space for reading, group work, or socialising.

Adaptable to future needs
The entrance lobby rises three levels up to show the library’s internal configuration and the layering of floors. The generous open-plan spaces ensure the library can be adapted to future needs. On the top floor, a delicate second skin is wrapped around the building, filtering the light and reducing solar heat gain. A pattern of typical Tainan window frames is transposed onto vertical louvres and represents the city’s evolving relationship with its past.

Programme Library of 37,000 m2 with adult library, special collections, study spaces, multimedia rooms, children’s area, event spaces, areas for teenagers and senior citizens, café, 180-seat conference hall, 290-seat auditorium, bookshop, commercial spaces, archive and visitors services; landscaped square and courtyards; including possible future extension of 13,000 m2 design 2016-2017 realisation 2017-2019 client Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government, Taiwan local partner MAYU Architects+, Kaohsiung, Taiwan structural engineer Envision Engineering Consultants, Taipei

Groundbreaking at Tainan Public Library

Delft, June 1, 2017 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Tainan Public Library in Taiwan was held on Friday, May 26, 2017. The library, designed by Mecanoo architecten in partnership with Kaohsiung-based MAYU architects+, will be built by Fu Tsu Construction and is due in 2019.

Rational yet elegant structural lines and a sensitive use of light and shadow characterise the building’s timeless design. The 37,000 m² building will feature reading rooms, special collections, study spaces, a children’s area, café, a 180-seat conference hall, a 290-seat auditorium and public sunken courtyards. Mecanoo and MAYU won the design competition for the library in 2016.

The library’s perimeter increases on each level, creating a large cantilever that provides shade to the immediate surroundings of the transparent building. The top floor is clad with a delicate second skin of vertical louvres which filter the light and reduce solar heat gain. Typical window patterns of Tainan are transposed onto louvres, representing the city’s evolving relationship with its traditions. The new library is a built expression of the social, cultural and traditional facets that have amalgamated to form the city of Tainan.

22 Feb 2016

Tainan Public Library

Design: Mecanoo and MAYU

Location: Tainan, Taiwan

Tainan Public Library

On top of its rich history, modern Tainan is developing as a central city in the knowledge-based economy. The Public Library is about Tainan’s evolving relationship with its past and the direction towards its future.

Mecanoo and MAYU’s design for the Tainan Public Library represents the meeting of cultures, generations and histories. Natural materials, like stone and wood, rational yet elegant structural lines and a sensitive use of light characterise the building’s timeless design.

Reaching up into the sky, the building’s perimeter increases on each level. The result is a large canopy that provides shade to the transparent stepped facade and below-grade courtyards.

Around the perimeter of the Lower Ground Floor is an outdoor children’s play area. A floor-to-ceiling glazed wall creates a visual connection between the play area and indoor children’s reading room. A sunken plaza on the same level is a multifunctional outdoor space for hosting talks, exhibitions or social gatherings. With a café adjacent, it is designed as a social destination for curious minds, creating a peaceful space for reading, group work, or socialising.

The entrance hall rises three levels to show the library’s internal configuration and the layering of floors. The wooden fenestration filters daylight, creating a rhythmic pattern of light on the stone floor. Curvaceous stairwells show the dynamic flow of people through the building. The generous open-plan spaces ensure the library can adapt to future needs.

On the top floor, a delicate second skin is wrapped around the building, filtering the light and reducing solar heat gain. An ancient map of Tainan is transposed onto vertical louvres and represents the city’s evolving relationship with its past and the direction towards its future.

Tainan Public Library – Building Information

Library of 35,000 sqm and future extension of 13,000 sqm with adult library, special collections, study spaces, multimedia rooms, children’s area, event spaces, areas for teenagers and senior citizens, café, conference hall, 200-seat auditorium, bookshop, commercial spaces, archive and visitors services; landscaped square and courtyards design 2016 realisation 2017-2018 client Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tainan City Government, Taiwan local partner MAYU Architect+, Kaohsiung, Taiwan