Glowing sphere
The eye's iris.
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One of the world's best-known modern libraries on social media, a library in the Binhai Cultural Center east of Tianjin, designed by the Dutch firm MVRDV with the Tianjin Urban Planning and Design Institute and opened in 2017; people call it «The Eye». At its heart is a huge luminous sphere containing a 110-seat auditorium, wrapped by terraced white shelves rising from floor to ceiling like waves, so that from the park outside the sphere looks like the iris of an eye inside a lid-shaped opening. The library covers 33,700 square metres over five floors, with shelving designed for 1.2 million books, though the upper shelves are decorative and cannot be reached; the lower floors hold reading rooms and lounges. Entry is free, and booking may be needed on busy days, per visitor guides. Photography is allowed in the main hall if you keep quiet, and trains and the metro reach it from central Tianjin in about an hour.
The eye's iris.
Like waves.
From the park.
Binhai Cultural Center, Binhai New Area, about 45 km east of central Tianjin
Yes, entry is free, booking may be needed on busy days, and photography is allowed if you keep quiet, per visitor guides.