Datong City Library China, Chinese Parametric Architecture Design News, Modern Building Images

Datong City Library, China

Chinese Building Development design by Preston Scott Cohen, Inc.

Design: Preston Scott Cohen, Inc.

Datong Library

Datong City Building Design

26 Apr 2013

Datong City Library Building

Datong Library aims to resolve the tension between the two major roles of a central library: as a place of community promenade and gathering and as an archive of knowledge and quite place of study. The form of the building embodies this tension, centering on a reflected pair of exceptional spaces. At the heart of the spaces of public promenade is a garden courtyard, around which classrooms, a gallery, informal reading rooms, and an auditorium are arrayed.

The symmetrical pair of the courtyard, an expansive atrium, ties four floors of book stacks together. The atrium is surrounded by a continuous, four-storey helical ramp lined with bookshelves and study carrels. Besides perceptually tying the stack and reading areas together, the book ramp represents a typological advance in library design inspired by Asplund’s Stockholm Library.

Datong City Library Building Design Datong City Library Design Datong City Library Datong City Library Building

Cutting-edge parametric software originally intended for use in aircraft design was used from the project’s inception, allowing the building form to retain its essential relational properties while allowing the precise shape to be changed rapidly and dramatically without requiring substantial redesign. This proved to be invaluable throughout design development: not only was the masterplan changed – along with important site constraints – but the program underwent substantial revision through meetings with the projects stakeholders.

Datong Library Datong Library Building Datong Library Design

Datong City Library – Building Information

Client: Datong City Government
Total Area: 20,000 sqm
Project Schedule: Design, 2009-10
Construction, 2011-13

Project Team: Preston Scott Cohen, Inc., Cambridge, MA
Preston Scott Cohen (architectural design)
Amit Nemlich (project architect)
Matthew Allen, Carl D’Apolito-Dworkin, Collin Gardner, Michelle Chang, Juan Jofre, Mary Stuckert, Janna Kauss (project assistants)

Construction photos of the Dalian Library development:

Dalian Library Dalian Library Construction Dalian Library Design Dalian Library Building Construction

Preston Scott Cohen

Datong City Library images / information from Preston Scott Cohen, Inc.

Images: Preston Scott Cohen, Inc.

Location: Datong City, People’s Republic of China, eastern Asia

Architecture in China

China Architecture Designs – chronological list

Chinese Architect Studios – Design Office Listings

Dalian Library, China – Architecture Competition
10 Design
Dalian Library Building
picture : 10 Design
Dalian Library Building

Library Buildings

Recent Dalian building designs on e-architect:

Dalian Stadium Building
UNStudio / Ben van Berkel
Dalian Stadium Building
image from architects

Dalian Conference Center
COOP HIMMELB(L)AU
Dalian International Conference Center Building
image : COOP HIMMELB(L)AU

Chinese Architecture

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Library Building Designs

Chinese Buildings

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