This cast-concrete library sits on a stretch of deserted beach facing the East China Sea and features a tiered reading hall topped by a curving ceiling. Beijing studio, Vector Architects built the aptly named Seashore Library on the white sands of a beach in Nandaihe, a coastal region in eastern China.
A tiered reading room occupies the centre of the two-storey library, while a meditation space, activity room, and bar occupy auxiliary areas around its edges.
The cast in-situ concrete walls are imprinted with the grain of their timber formwork – influenced by the rippled markings left behind on the sand by the wind and water.
“It implies a mark of memory in time,” said the architects. “Wood grains are the marks of realisation process that we want to leave on the library. Also, it softens the hardness of concrete with warmth.”
“From outside, it looks like a weathered rock that is pure and solid; but inside, what it contains is the rich feelings and experiences,” they added. “When walking into the space, one starts to feel the light, breezes, and sound of the ocean. In here, everyone can slow down the usual pace, and unfold the feeling of distance and loneliness different from the city life.”
Timber floorboards that resonate with the board-marked walls cover the terraced reading area and an L-shaped platform that brackets the space at the upper level.
Seating and study areas arranged on the stepped levels like the stalls of a theatre face a glazed wall that overlooks the sea.
“The ocean is an ever-changing character and continues to alter from season to season, morning to night,” said the design team. “It is like a drama play of nature. As if giving the stage to this character of the ocean, we piled up seating platforms raised toward the back, so that everyone has an unblocking view to the stage.”
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A dimly lit meditation room with a concave concrete ceiling sits to one side of the brightly lit upper floor. Two narrow openings – one horizontal and one vertical
A-curving-concrete-ceiling-patterned-with-small-circular-openings-arches-over-the-reading-room.
An-activity-room-with-its-own-private-balcony-occupies-an-angled-concrete-box-on-the-other-side-of-the-triangular-terrace.
A-passage-is-cut-through-one-side-of-the-block,-providing-access-from-the-rear-of-the-site.
A-tiered-reading-room-occupies-the-centre-of-the-two-storey-library,-while-a-meditation-space,-activity-room,-and-bar-occupy-auxiliary-areas-around-its-edges.
Pivoting-glass-doors-along-the-ground-level-to-open-the-reading-room-to-the-beach.
Seashore-Library1
Seashore-Library2
Seashore-Library3
Seating-and-study-areas-arranged-on-the-stepped-levels-like-the-stalls-of-a-theatre-face-a-glazed-wall-that-overlooks-the-sea.
The-cast-in-situ-concrete-walls-are-imprinted-with-the-grain-of-their-timber-formwork-–-influenced-by-the-rippled-markings-left-behind-on-the-sand-by-the-wind-and-water.
Timber floorboards that resonate with the board-marked walls cover the terraced reading area and an L-shaped platform that brackets the space at the upper level.
While-the-sea-facing-aspect-is-predominantly-glazed,-slabs-of-concrete-and-strips-of-laminated-timber-dominate-the-facade-looking-inland.