Words by Ewa Effiom In Taiwan’s oldest city and former capital, Tainan, Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo – in collaboration with local practice MAYU Architects – has completed a 37,000 sq m public library that is designed as a symbolic temple to the city’s culture. The library contains over a million books, in addition to music, films and modern art. The building takes its design inspiration from the local vernacular. Its cantilevered roof subtly references from the 17th-century Tainan Confucian Temple in the city. The striking inverted ziggurat exterior is supported by what the architects refer to as ‘rhythmically placed quartets’ of columns, intended to be reminiscent of a bamboo forest.