Luminous Glass × Sky Garden Night View – The World’s First Suspended Green Building

By MOOK Scenic Spots Editorial Team

With over 70 years of history, the Kaohsiung Municipal Library has weathered the trials of World War II bombings and relocations. Today, there are 59 branches across Kaohsiung, with the main library undergoing a complete redesign in 2011 and reopening in 2014 as a brand-new, stylish green building that has become a proud new cultural landmark for the city. Voted Taiwan’s top “must-visit library,” the Kaohsiung Central Library is now a popular spot for photos. Its light-transmitting glass structure, glowing tree-like columns, and sky garden are especially eye-catching, drawing many visitors.

Designed with the concept of “trees within the library, the library within the trees,” the Kaohsiung Central Library features highly unique architectural techniques. It uses suspended steel rods, a lightweight design, and a glass curtain wall, making it the most transparent library in the world. The nine-story building (eight above ground and one underground) resembles a giant tree, with green energy and eco-friendly concepts integrated into every floor. The most distinctive feature of the main library is the massive atrium designed to create a green environment. As the entire structure was built using a suspension method from the top down, there are no supporting columns inside, making it the world’s first suspended green building—and also home to the world’s largest suspended landscape atrium.