All images © Condition_Lab and UAL Studio. Photograph by Sai Zhao
Modeled after a traditional timber house, a new local library designed by Chinese architecture firm highlights the region’s architectural heritage through elegant, contemporary details. is located in the village of Pingtan, Tongdao Province, Hunan, and nestles into the courtyard of a primary school that serves 400 children. The studio saw an opportunity to complement the school—a 20-year old blocky, concrete construction—with an addition that was more empathetic to its cultural and natural surroundings.
Condition_Lab conceived of the idea for a pitched, tiled roof and mortise-and-tenon construction from the local vernacular, drawing attention to the region’s disappearing historic construction. “Entire villages built over centuries from a single sustainable material, indigenous China Fir, are rapidly losing their identity,” the studio explains in a . “Dong’s cultural DNA is being challenged by contemporary living and the quest to modernize.”
Connection and interaction within the space and with one another is an important facet of Condition_Lab’s ethos. “Social impact does not require large amounts of financial investment, design is not limited to high-end projects, and architecture must have a purpose,” the studio says. To make the interior space inviting for children to explore, sit, and read, the designers devised a unique plan: instead of rooms and doors, the layout consists of two staircases that wrap around one another in a double helix. Landings between staircases provide wall space for books and top-to-bottom windows that peer out into the surrounding landscape. The steps provide seating for the children, with views up and down the three-story structure through airy balustrades.
Condition_Lab focuses on purposeful design as a vehicle to make change, and you can explore more of the studio’s work on its and .
Photograph by Sai Zhao
Photograph by Sai Zhao
Left: Photograph by Xiaotie Chen. Right: Photograph by Sai Zhao
Photograph by Sai Zhao
Left: Photograh by Sai Zhao. Right: Photograph by Xiaotie Chen
Photograph by Sai Zhao
Photograph by Sai Zhao
Photograph by Xiaotie Chen
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