Tanhualin Library

A historic community space / 2013

                              Tanhualin is a place where lots of literati and local authorities used to station in Wuhan. Nowadays it becomes a small cultural industrial park with numerous past buildings on the main streets recording the social life in the period of that time. Because of these precious relics, some celebrities in Wuhan set up their studios in Tanhualin, and those landmarks, surrounded by cafes, souvenir shops attract many tourists. The whole street is filled with romantic atmosphere.

Besides it's commercial influence, Tanhualin is a historical block in a broad sense. Obviously it is not like the present blocks which conform to the principle of urban planning, and the scales of streets and buildings are more according with people living there. However, the functional imperfection caused a lack of space for reading. Therefore, the design is intended to provide a comfortable area for communicating and exchanging for the local residents.

The old buildings fit the ground well, meanwhile the historical sites are very stylized. So I use a square to respond the site which can produce a homogeneous attraction and distance from each direction, with no offence but only affinity. 

For such a multi-functional architecture, the partitions of inner space are not likely to be the same. Arch Structure, not like Post-and-beam system, can make the large space purer, and it acts as beams, columns, and the ceilings at the same time. The form itself becomes a part of the experience. 

Although used in many modern buildings, the metaphor and suggestion of classic forms still exist, and therefore the library can coordinate the historical background of Tanhualin.