New library takes shape
The steel structure of the main body of Shanghai Library's East Branch in the Pudong New Area has been completed.
The steel structure of the main body of Shanghai Library's East Branch in the Pudong New Area was completed on Friday after two years' work.
The whole building is scheduled to complete construction by 2020 and will be open to the public for a trial run in 2021.
Based on an old Chinese saying "Yu Bu Zhuo, Bu Cheng Qi" — Jade requires polishing to become an article — the design is derived from jade. The 50-meter-high building will have nine floors, including two underground. Its walls will be of 3D-printed colored glass with different levels of transparency to imitate a marble texture.
"Our next step is placing the glass curtain walls and that work is likely to last into early next year," said Chen Chao, the library curator. Due to bad weather, including typhoons, over the past two years completion of the steel structure took longer than expected, Chen said.
Designers decided to use 3D-printed glass instead of real stone to promote the idea of green and environmental protection. "They think glass is more eco-friendly than stone. But we still want to make it look like the jade, so we printed the glass with a stone texture."
Chen said the new branch will have an automatic sorting system where machines will sort the books returned by readers.
There are still technical challenges ahead for workers in the glass curtain wall construction and equipment installation and testing, Chen said. The glass and concrete materials will go through a number of tests to ensure their quality.
"The new branch of the library will serve as a study room, living room and workshop for the city and the public with various reading events, while the old Shanghai Library will mainly serve more professional needs and research," Chen said. "The new branch will have some sub-libraries with different themes, such as those of music, art, law and health."
A construction worker makes finishing touches to the new branch's steel structure.
A final piece of the new library branch's steel structure is lowered into place.
A construction worker removes building materials against a backdrop of the new branch's steel structure.
An artist's interpretation of how the interior of the new branch of Shanghai Library will look.
How the new branch will look after construction is complete in 2020.
