This completely poured concrete library building was built on a deserted beach. The windows offer a wonderful view of the East China Sea. It took Vector Studios to buy bagged cement and other concrete ingredients, turning these simple materials into a gorgeous book storage structure with a multi-level reading room topped with a curved ceiling..
Vector studio itself is based in Beijing, and they built the Seaside Library on Nandaihe Beach in the coastal region of eastern China..
The two-story library building houses a multi-level reading room, a meditation space, an active room and a bar..
The walls are made of monolithic concrete in a special way — they are associated with petrified wooden boards. Indeed, looking at the photographs, one can decide that even inside everything is decorated with wooden formwork of a cold shade, but in fact it is a corrugated concrete texture, made specially in this style. Architects say it means «memory footprint». The grain of the wood is a trace that the designers wanted to leave on the library. In addition, the texture softens the concrete’s hardness and adds warmth..
Vector added that from the outside, the library looks like a structure made of weathered rock, clean and solid. And the interior design conveys rich feelings and experiences. Moving around the premises, a person feels the proximity of the ocean and feels solitude, being far from the bustle of the city..
A wooden floor resonates with concrete walls with terraces and a reading platform.
The architects also designed an unusual ceiling with rigid geometry and holes that allow light and air to enter the space..
A glass door leads to a separate reading room located on the beach. You can meditate in a separate room with dim lights. And if you climb the stairs, you will find yourself on a concave rooftop terrace from which you can listen to the ocean but not see it. This is also a special effect that the developers of the project foresaw..
You can discuss this library in our group at VK:
