This library in an important new civic building within the Zikawei district of Shanghai and is located on Caoxi Road facing a public square. It sits adjacent to the well-preserved St Ignatius Cathedral and close to the Observatory Building and historic Zikawei Bibliotheca, perhaps the best examples of architecture built by the Jesuit missionaries in Shanghai in the early twentieth century. From the beginning the project focused on the idea of urban repair, addressing the intensive development of recent years that had left the historic buildings isolated. The new building seeks to create a context in which these buildings can be best appreciated. The massing and the location of the library re-defines the public square while strengthening the presence of the cathedral on it. Continue reading David Chipperfield
