- Area: 4200 m²
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Photographs:Chunliu Yu
Text description provided by the architects. The Library for a university is so self-evidently important that It is often the core, the symbol and spirit symbol of a university building. It also has a pivotal position for the new campus, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Anji campus, so at the first begining of the design, we choose the most important land in the campus for the library. And in the meanwhile, architects hope to perform and shape the core construction from inside to outside, with the most pure colors and design skills.
White is elegant and noble, so the architects make an important decision to choose white as the theme of the facade. As The library is only about 4200 square of construction area and the volume is not large, architects design a very pure and simple cube for it. Light white marble of external wall material goes so well with the simple and square building body, which creates an elegant and pure white tone character for the whole building.
On the premise of meeting the internal daylighting need, architects try to open large windows, great depth of vertical window apertures and upper inclined walls as far as possible in the facades of the reading room area which are towards southern and eastern water, which can make strong contrast between light and shadow and strengthen dimension sense, and provide a comfortable reading space for the readers as well, Merging with nature. While the vertical windows in the western and the northern facades of the stack room and offices are reduced appropriately. These two kinds of facades form harmonious combination and contrast.
The whole building is designed in the waterfront. The real building and the illusory reflection in the water are mutually extending, docking and echoing. The surface of the water is like a mirror which makes the white library more graceful and pure. The white library produces a ethereal and changable building picture with the reflection, which surprises the architects and is beyond the architects’ imagination.
The relationship of Light and interior space is also an important element of the design. The interior of the library is a L- shaped high court which connects exterior facade and leads the natural light at the top to the entire buildings. The light becomes softer through the adjustment of the atrium, and provides ample light for the stacks of each layer, corridors, and reading space of the first floor through the vertical holes of the indoor space. The matrix of the interior facade divided modulus corresponds to the arrangement spacing of the shelves in the stacks, and also “divides” the atrium light into each unit projected into the library. The entire library is such a container accommodating and guiding light.
The selection of materials and colors indoor contrast with the elegant white facade is also an important content of the design. The interior space is sedate brunet attune, and the material is local bamboo of Anji. The dark wood texture provides a simple friendly touch, and forms a kind of harmonious perfect collocation simultaneously with wooden bookshelves, desks, and the color and texture of books. All of them mixed produce a special library interior space atmosphere and a kind of artistic appeal.
