Architects Collective have designed a library based on the concept of a flower petal. The purpose of petals is to attract insects or other animals to the flower; likewise the Dalian Library aims to be a landmark for locals and visitors, magnetizing them with the world of knowledge, ‘fertilizing’ the mind like the flower stigma. The magical hidden garden only accentuates the beginning of this beautiful journey.

The practice’s new library for the City of Dalian is designed to become the center and heart for the local community with a strong relationship to the ocean and the bay. The 50m building is placed in a park setting and aims to be a landmark for locals and visitors and a symbol for the creative and environmentally friendly future of New Pulian.
It is a place for the public to read, contemplate and come together. The basic architectural form for the 50,000 sqm library is the rose petal since the Monthly Rose is the city flower of Dalian. The Pulian branch is one of several library branches in the Dalian region with each branch symbolizing a petal and forming a rose flower.

The building frame including floor slabs, columns and cores consist of reinforced concrete. The façade construction is made of steel and wherever possible and available, recycling materials shall be used including structural steel, concrete and metal facade panels. The facades are highly insulated to keep the building volume climatically stable and to minimize the need to cool or heat the building. The façade surfaces are covered with recycled sheet metal panels from Dalian shipyards.

ARCHITECT: Architects Collective, Vienna, Austria. CLIENT: Dalian Urban Planning Bureau. LOCATION: Dalian, China. STATUS: Competition Entry. PROJECT TEAM: Andreas Frauscher, Patrick Herold, Richard Klinger, Martin Schorn, Kurt Sattler, Fei Tang. AREA: 49950 sqm. DATE: 2011. No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Morfae and the copyright owner.