Lobsang Library in Taichung targets completion by the end of 2026
Designed by Banmu Tang, the planned Nantun library connects reading, greenery and a light-filled stairway near Fengle Sculpture Park. Completion and opening are separate milestones.
Taichung Nantun’s reading landscape will be joined by a new space connected to the park. The Lobsang Library was donated and built by Wang Shixu. It was planned and designed by Banmu Tang and constructed by Liming Construction. Construction started in June 2025 and is now targeted for completion by the end of 2026. It will become the third public library in Nantun, but the completion target does not mean that it has been opened to the public.
The design combines fair-faced concrete, three-dimensional greening, water features and a "light staircase" connecting floors, and establishes a pedestrian relationship with the adjacent Fengle Sculpture Park. For readers who are looking forward to the new venue, the most important thing to understand at this stage is the spatial direction; the planning drawings and schematic images used in this article should not be mistaken for the actual scene that has been opened.
Key facts
Location: Around Wenxin South 7th Road and Yongchun East 1st Road, Nantun, Taichung, adjacent to Fengle Sculpture Park.
Design: Banmu Tang; Construction: Liming Construction; Target completion by the end of 2026.
Planned areas include children’s reading, teen reading, shared study, periodicals and self-service collection of reserved books.
From charity bookstores to long-term investment in public reading
Wang Shixu founded Lobsang Books in Wuri in 2013 and continues to invest in reading promotion. The new library will expand this investment from a charity bookstore into a public cultural facility; upon completion, it will be donated to the city government, allowing more residents to have the opportunity to use it in their daily lives.
The base was originally used as a vehicle impound lot, and its conversion into a reading space also changed the way urban land is used. To understand this library, we can look at the starting point of private donation and the follow-up of public operation at the same time, rather than just treating it as a beautiful-looking and short-lived photo destination.
A bird’s eye view of the greening planning around Lobsang Library · Photo: 羅布森書蟲房／臺中市立圖書館
How to connect light ladder, greening and waterscape
Fair-faced concrete provides a more stable volume, planting extends along different floors, and the surrounding waterscape and park views are incorporated into the design. The light ladder runs through the vertical space, combined with geometric windows and natural ventilation, trying to make movement, lighting and reading happen on the same line.
From the schematic diagram, you can notice how the boundaries between indoor and outdoor areas, window openings, and trees are close to the reading area. These are planned spatial relationships, and the real sense of use still needs to wait until completion and opening; it is not appropriate to use "you can sit in the forest and read a book" to describe services that have not yet been activated.
Lobsang Library waterscape and reading area planning outline · Photo: 羅布森書蟲房／臺中市立圖書館
What services are needed for reading for all ages?
The planned children's reading, parent-child reading, youth area and joint study room respond to the way different age groups stay in the library. Periodical reading and self-book pick-up by appointment make it possible to stop, pick up books and use them daily in addition to borrowing.
When the library opens in the future, the most worthy of further inspection are details such as space zoning, borrowing certificates, reservation methods, and barrier-free circulation. At this stage, there is no official opening timetable and daily business hours that can be verified by this article. If you want to arrange a visit, you can wait for the museum to make an announcement before booking your itinerary.
Lobsang Library appearance and waterscape planning · Photo: 羅布森書蟲房／臺中市立圖書館
Questions and answers
Can I read in the library now?
This article examines the construction and planning stages, and the end-of-year completion target cannot be understood to mean that it is now open.
What is the Ladder of Light?
It is the vertical movement line that connects different floors in the design, and is matched with window opening, lighting and ventilation planning.
Is it the same as the Lobsang Books?
different. Bookworm Room is the original charity bookstore, and the new library is a library project built with donations and included in public services.
