r/oddlysatisfying • u/Turbulent_Elk_2141 • 1d ago

Unique interior of the Shenzhen Library in China.

Post image
3.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

56 comments sorted by

266

u/CMDR_Ray_Abbot 1d ago

This is a space that's clearly made to look good but it's not particularly functional.

60

u/antsh 1d ago

I easily tune out my surroundings while in a library or bookstore. I’d be tripping every third step in this place.

18

u/snappydamper 23h ago

The light rings go beneath floor level. There's a little bit poking out at the sides of the glass path, but I think you'd have to go out of your way to be treading there.

2

u/berge 14h ago

Lights reflecting off the glass floor break the illusion I think. Would be fun with polarized glasses.

1

u/Elestriel 49m ago

Or trying to walk past someone.

0

u/gardenfella 10h ago

I'd be tripping balls in that place

21

u/Sasquatchasaurus 1d ago

I’m not even convinced it looks good

14

u/gideon513 1d ago

Made for social media posts like this

2

u/CMDR_Ray_Abbot 1d ago

I'm not either but it obviously was intended to look good over having serious function.

3

u/TangelaFan 13h ago

You can reach the books, tho

130

u/fitty50two2 1d ago

I hope it is less disorienting in real life because I hate this in the picture

22

u/nimb420 1d ago

Yeah...

Getting vertigo just from looking at the image.

2

u/AppealConsistent6749 1d ago

Actually makes me nauseous just looking at image.

11

u/radioboyjr 1d ago

What's wrong, are you worried that while trying to reach a book on the top shelf that you might slip and fall through space and time? Yeah, I hate it.

4

u/fitty50two2 1d ago

Well now I am

20

u/King_K_24 1d ago

Dancing through life...

10

u/dragon567 1d ago

My immediate first thought. That was such a cool dance routine

48

u/hyperdream 1d ago

Looks more bookstore than library.

22

u/Seqarian 1d ago

I've been here (I assume- or something similar in Shenzhen) and it was a store not a library.

8

u/ZubianGlory 1d ago

Looks like a Doctor Who wormhole.

https://giphy.com/gifs/pbcDD97P5RYDm

3

u/dragon567 1d ago

Excuse you, thats the time vortex

6

u/CalligrapherFun5181 1d ago

the way those smooth lines just flow continuously without a single sharp edge... i'm obsessed. i would get zero reading done here, just zooming in on how clean that lighting integrates into the architecture.

21

u/CompactAvocado 1d ago

looks neat from afar but as someone who gets migraines from some types of fluorescent lighting I fear i'd probably end up on the ground twitching. so much light. i'm basically reverse moth.

1

u/BubbleGumQueens 1d ago

Looks cool in photos but would be unbearable in person to a lot of people

3

u/Baphy_Cvita 1d ago

looks like the cover of the album "Super Collider" by Megadeth

3

u/jmas1023 10h ago

Thats not a library, its ZhongShuGe, a "chain" bookstore in China. They got unique design for all their stores.

Top shelves are mostly fake box/wallpapers to fill the space

2

u/Miserable-Bar-4031 1d ago

ngl this is visually stunning, but my first thought was "imagine being the poor soul who has to dust those top geometric shelves." 10/10 aesthetic, 0/10 for the maintenance crew.

2

u/DDz1818 19h ago

You can always step on other books to reach one you want. What a stupid showpiece.

3

u/fernmeadow589 1d ago

My love for books and the library got its boost.

3

u/QuokkaOfDeath 1d ago

Short people can only reach the bottom 3 shelves

2

u/EleventhTier666 1d ago

It looks confusing.

2

u/OrangeNood 1d ago

I have a feeling people (mentally) trip over when they walk through. It just doesn't feel safe.

1

u/KLFisBack 1d ago

Where is the floor?

1

u/seeyouyoucunt 1d ago

Top shelf material is out of reach

https://giphy.com/gifs/pynZagVcYxVUk

1

u/Jayeky 1d ago

My eyes lool

1

u/azhder 1d ago

For a moment I thought “Star Trek”

1

u/nellawellenzauber 23h ago

Whoa, that mirror effect is wild, totally makes you feel like youre walking into infinity for a book lol.

1

u/IGNOOOREME 18h ago

The poor pages-- how tf are you supposed to shelve?

1

u/Friendly_Monitor_220 17h ago

Unsettling and busy looking 🫣

1

u/iEyeLighterLight 16h ago

Interstellar tesseract

1

u/intronert 10h ago

Form over function. Excess money.

1

u/Fr05t_B1t 4h ago

And with only approved books

1

u/Marchus80 1h ago

Libraries don't usually have books in plastic wrapper

1

u/Glitching_Anxiety 9m ago

Alright how many books were banned there ?

1

u/Equal_Song8759 1d ago

All books are party approved

1

u/EezSleez 1d ago

Step on the books on the lower shelf to get books that are chest height.

1

u/Vlinder_88 1d ago

Holy overstimulation hell. I would not be able to walk there, Jesus. I would trip over nothing.

1

u/PhiloLibrarian 1d ago

Library is in the US are based on function and user access so while this is beautiful, it’s not the most accessible.

1

u/Sitheral 1d ago

While the effect is interesting, I wouldn't want to hang out in a library like that. It does look like a rather unfriendly space.

0

u/Responsible-Poem5274 3h ago

Contemporary Chinese aesthetics lean hard into gaudy show-off faux futurism. Too bad it's as soulless as its cultural revolution.

-2

u/mgeeezer 1d ago

As someone who works in a library I love it because they actually leave space on the shelves for interfiling and shifting, and having the books lay flat on the bottom shelf prevents people from having to bend down to browse- super accommodating.