Library of Jiaxing University (Lianglin Campus Phase II)

The project’s site is level, enjoying a favorable geographical location and convenient transportation. The project is a library complex in the Lianglin Campus of Jiaxing University, which is a part of the Phase II construction of the new campus. The design continues the campus’s master planning concept, extends landscape space on the main horizontal axis, and takes full account of the architecture’s relationship with the central lake. Based on Jiaxing’s historical and cultural context as well as the development course of Jiaxing University, and by drawing on the image and cultural character of traditional Chinese libraries — known as “book pavilions”, the architects put forward the idea of building a waterfront “book pavilion”. The plot sits at the center of campus’s landscape axis. The podium volume of the library complex, mainly accommodating ancillary library rooms, network management center, museum and the archives, are enveloped by a viewing platform with ascending steps, naturally blending into the site. The viewing platform extends the open spatial form of the main axis, and gives rise to a continuous outdoor environment. More importantly, it provides teachers and students with the most dynamic outdoor communication space in the campus. The design team employed contemporary design techniques to create a building image that inherits traditional characteristics and responds to local spirit. Facades are decorated with elements of traditional Chinese architecture, showing the natural transition of exteriors of major spaces. Modern architectural materials that carry quaint textures, such as brownish-gray metal, gray bricks and grayish-white stone, are creatively combined. A plain yet elegant color palette of green, cyan, gray, brown and white fully integrates into the building complex. The design emphasizes functional independence and interrelation. Therefore, functions of library, network management center, museum and the archives are set separately. The functional volumes of this library complex include one podium and one tower above it. The podium accommodates network management center, the archives, library’s logistics rooms, and museum. These four functional areas are relatively independent yet interconnected. The tower, i.e. the main building volume, encompasses functions for reading, book storage and searching, discussion, and exchange, etc. The platform on 2F is a core ritualistic square in the campus. Its design emphasizes publicness, diversity and a sense of ceremony. Courtyard landscapes, coupled with lakeside tree beds, greenery and walkable pavement, create a pleasant space for gathering, socializing and resting. The design team leveraged both active and passive strategies, to show low-carbon, ecological and intelligent philosophy and make this library a model of new low-carbon building in the campus.