Location: Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China.
Architect: WJ Studio.
Zuo Zongtang (General Tso) founded the first naval academy, Fuzhou Naval Academy, in 1886 in what is now Fuzhou’s Mawei area. Since that time, Mawei has developed into the modern Chinese navy’s birthplace, and a thriving shipbuilding culture has emerged.
The library, which is now housed at the previous location of the naval school, features a “ship cabin and reading space” continuing the tradition of “building ships and educating talents at the same time” from more than a century ago. The designer makes an effort to incorporate the spirit into people’s everyday life by using a fresh metaphor to communicate and inherit the local culture.
The library features a variety of sections that are organised in a way that is reminiscent of a conventional ship. The open deck, semi-open cabin, and other areas are also modernised. The bow (front end), midship (middle section), and stern (rear end) are transformed into diverse internal spaces.
