Location: Tainan, Taiwan.

Architect: Bio-architecture Formosana.

The 51,000 m2 National Central Library and National Repository Library will be placed in the southern part of Taiwan in XinYing District around 23km south of Chiayi City and 37km north of Tainan City. It will transform a large undeveloped suburban plot on the outskirts of Xinying District surrounded by housing, a municipal swimming pool and a stadium. The design investigates the role of the library in the future, proposing an open and transparent new learning environment of “rooms of knowledge” that defines the contemporary use of the library as a less formal but interactive hub. Three main ideas drive the creation of this chance encounter: the integration with nature, the openness of learning and the “museumization” of the library. The project proposes a library as a hub of open learning and collaboration, with the main lobby being an interactive flexible space for learning and events. The Agora under the solar canopy provides shade and energy, and the museum loop includes peeping into the “behind-the-scenes” of book restoration, preservation and digitalization.