British Library Borrows From China

Visiting the British Library reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Photographs of the British Library and part of the Forbidden City are shown below followed by some comments on their similarities. The library was designed by Colin St John Wilson and Mary Jane Long. It has been suggested the Library resembles a ship reflecting St John Wilson’s time in the navy. A few minutes on Google did not come up with any speculations of oriental influences in the architecture of the British Library but I still feel the similarities are too marked to be purely coincidental.

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Horizontal Layout

In the west our buildings tend to be more vertical than horizontal in their primary dimension. The British Library departs from this by having a horizontal layout similar to the pavilions of China, for example those of the Forbidden City. This can be seen in the overall layout of the British Library and also in the main entrance which for a prestigious western building is unusual in not having an impressive vertical dimension to it but instead having generous horizontal proportions.
Gates

Important buildings in China are approached through gates leading to a generous space between the gate and the building. This is also the case with the British Library.
Colour

Both structures show a similar use of two shades of red. A lighter brick colour for walls and a stronger more purple colour to pick out detail. In the photograph of the Forbidden city the brick color can be seen in the walls at the ends of the building and just glimpsed in the walls of the pavilions behind the main pavilion. It is notable how both buildings employ short cylindrical columns of a similar colour.
Double Roves

Unusually for Western buildings the British Library has distinct double (in some places more than two) roves separated by a short vertical section. This is common for Chinese pavilions.
Upturned roof

Chinese Pavilion roves are typically turned up at their lowest point. Although this is not generally the case with the British Library, the roof of the porch at the main entrance does curve upwards evoking an Oriental feeling.
Roof Timbers

The photo of the entrance of the British Library has on the left side a section of brick wall which at the top has features which resemble the timber structures that are a recurring feature of oriental pavilions. A photo of the China Pavilion for Expo 2010 in Shanghai demonstrates the iconic nature of this simple structure in Oriental architecture.
Decorative Wall Features

The photo of the British Library shows a horizontal row of circular decorative elements about two thirds up the main brick wall. This is reminiscent of many decorative elements seen in Chinese pavilions. The photo of a gate in the Forbidden City shows many circular or nearly circular decorative elements. These include the four embellishments immediately above the doors as well as the vertical faces of the cylindrical tiles on the roof and also many of the decorations on the walls.
Frontage

The spaces in front of oriental pavilions tend to be devoid of vertical structures such as large trees and buildings. This emphasises the pavilion itself. The area in front of the Forbidden City is the enormous Tiananmen Square which provides this function. It is notable that the area in front of the British Library is devoid of large trees and buildings and is quite a large area given its congested urban setting.