Ningbo's new library is a project carried out by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, being the first library project completed in China by the studio.

The architects propose a new solution with a strong spatial and architectural identity compared to the original library of the city founded in 1927. This is to increase the number of visitors to it in an organized and orderly manner.
Located on the edge of an ecological wetland in the city, we find the new Ningbo library by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects. Ningbo is the second most important city in the Zhejiang province in the People's Republic of China, as well as being the main port of the province.

When approaching the project, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects are based on the old Ningbo library founded in 1927, which attracted three to four thousand daily visitors, so its objective was to increase them further.

For this reason, the library is projected around a rectangle in which its main functions are located; This rectangle, oriented longitudinally with respect to the east-west axis, is the one that organizes each of the floors with respect to the uses, acting in turn as a large skylight to provide the library with natural light.

On the other hand, outside, careful landscape work is carried out, where the environment acts as a retreat for meditation and contemplation and where people can disconnect from their busy daily lives and enjoy tranquility and relaxation.
 

Project description by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects

After opening its Shanghai studio more than 12 years ago, Danish architectural firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects realizes its first library project in China, the 31,800-square-metre Ningbo New Library. Located 200 kilometres south of Shanghai at the centre of Ningbo, China’s new cultural hub, the library is a vital element in the ongoing development of the city.
 
Founded in 1927, the original Ningbo City Library held the largest collection of historic and ancient books in the region and attracted three to four thousand daily visitors. The new library, with its open, accessible architecture, aims to double the number of daily visitors and become the cultural heart of the community.
 
“We first came to Ningbo seven years ago when the Eastern New Town area of Ningbo was just beginning to slowly redevelop,” said Chris Hardie, Partner and Design Director Shanghai at Schmidt Hammer Lassen. “To see the library completed and part of not only the new ecological wetland landscape, but also the fabric of the local culture, is a rewarding milestone for our team.”

An airy, welcoming new home to two million books
 
Ningbo New Library is organized around an 8,000-square-metre open “square” on the first level. It comprises the most popular library functions and collections including the main lobby, reader services, children’s library, 24-hour library, a library for the visually impaired, two lecture halls, a café, and the grand reading room. The ground floor is visually open on all sides, connecting it to an external public plaza and a landscaped ecological park and lake.

 
“We wanted to create a very legible building for Ningbo,” says Hardie. “The previous library was quite labyrinthine, so Ningbo New Library has an intentional spatial clarity.”

 
In the heart of the library is a central atrium that cuts vertically through the building’s five levels. The generous, 28-metre-high space connects the ground floor square with a series of quieter research spaces and the historic collections on the floors above. The use of natural daylight in all interior spaces is optimized through the building orientation, and natural ventilation is maximized through the central atrium.
 
A landscape of contemplation

The spatial and architectural concept for the library creates a strong identity at the heart of the development. The journey to the main entrance over the wetland takes the user through a journey of escapism and contemplation where bridges, walkways, water, and nature blend as one sculptural landscape. A distinct and open facade welcomes visitors while casting a shimmering reflection on the lake.
 
The serene surrounding library landscape contains gardens where ponds form habitats for aquatic plants and animals and where the sky reflects in the pools’ surfaces. The landscape acts as a retreat for meditation and contemplation where people can disconnect from their busy daily lives and enjoy tranquility and relaxation.
 
Ningbo New Library is one of several Schmidt Hammer Lassen projects that have recently completed in Ningbo, China. The firm has also recently completed the headquarters for Ningbo Daily Newspaper Group as well as the sprawling Ningbo Home of Staff.

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Architects
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Collaborators
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Artist collaboration.- Richard Sweeney. Art facilitation and fabrication.- UAP.
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Client
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City of Ningbo.
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Area
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31,800 m²
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Dates
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2019
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Awards
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First prize.- Restricted invited international competition.
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Location
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Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
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Photography
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Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects was founded in Aarhus, Denmark, in 1986 by architects Morten Schmidt, Bjarne Hammer and John F. Lassen. Today, the practice has grown substantially and employs 150 staff. The group of partners has also grown and now includes Senior Partners Kim Holst Jensen and Kristian Lars Ahlmark, Partners Chris Hardie and Rong Lu. In addition, there are six associate partners and seven associates. Day-to-day management of the practice is the responsibility of CEO Bente Damgaard.

The practice has extensive global experience in the design of libraries and other public and cultural landmark buildings including the Katuaq Cultural Centre of Greenland in Nuuk (1997), the extension to the Royal Library in Copenhagen (1999), ARoS Museum of Art in Aarhus (2004), Halifax Central Library in Canada (2015) and the largest public library in Scandinavia, Dokk1 in Aarhus (2015). Aside cultural buildings, our works have a democratic approach to architecture creating modern, open and multi-functional spaces such as The International Criminal Court in The Hague (2016) We pride ourselves on projects which interact with their urban context placing particular emphasis on the surroundings and social context like Malmö Live, a Concert/Congress/Hotel centre in Sweden (2015), Ningbo Home of Staff in China (under construction) and Christchurch Central Library in New Zealand (under construction).

Awards. WAF mixed Use Award 2016/ Governor General’s Medal in Architecture in Canada/ Public Library of the Year Award 2016/ A+Award 2016/ Årets Bygge 2016/ Architectural Review MIPIM Future Project Awards 2015/ World Green Design Product Award 2014/ RIBA National Award 2013/ RIAS Award 2013/ LEAF Award 2011 to name but a few.


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Published on: May 16, 2020
Cite: "An elegant blend of cultural functions. Ningbo New Library by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/elegant-blend-cultural-functions-ningbo-new-library-schmidt-hammer-lassen-architects> ISSN 1139-6415
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