Kaoshiung Public Library in Taiwan becomes the region’s largest library and the city’s new cultural meeting hub, providing study, research and multimedia facilities as well as a theatre and congress centre. The 38,000 m² multipurpose building is a gigantic cube measuring sixty by sixty metres integrated into a subtropical garden landscape.
Inside, the atmosphere varies from quiet study areas to lively hospitality venues to a bustling shopping centre. The wide ledges on the facades are adorned with hundreds of pots filled with local plant species.
These plants, together with the trees that grow through the voluminous voids and on the roof terrace, literally connect inside and outside and also create a comfortable microclimate in the library. Flexible and adaptable floor plans can accommodate future changes to functions in the interior.
The library can be accessed in three ways: via stairs in the square that slopes towards the shopping centre below; through the large library garden; and from the direct entrance on the street side. An extended pergola at the base of the library offers visitors a shaded courtyard, an oasis to escape the hectic surrounding business district.
Openings in the pergola bring daylight into the lower floors, resulting in comfortable, well-lit surroundings for shopping and relaxing. Numerous functions such as private seating areas, a playground and large multipurpose space are housed in the courtyard.
The library complements the cultural district in Kaoshiung Harbour where the Wei-Wu-Ying Centre for the Arts – also designed by Mecanoo – is located.