Location: Kinmen Island, Fukien, Taiwan.

Architect: Eddea/Luis Ybarra + Leching Chiang.

Kinmen Island, off the southeast coast of mainland China, is home to the Special Art and Culture Zone Base, formerly Runan Second Camp District. The Kinmen Library and Art Museum project site is located at the foot of the hill, below the military viewpoint, and its three most important elements are the military trench, the depressed wetland and the group of protected trees. The building proposes to reconstruct the edge of the depressed wetland, leaving 100% of protected trees untouched, and open up internal patios that connect with the landscape. It also proposes a public service space attached to each one of these program blocks. The access to the building is solved through bridges over the wetland connecting the parking lot with the different entrances. The building’s promenade provides members and invitational access, solar panels provide energy, a sustainable timber structure reduces carbon emissions, and rainwater drains into a water tank below ground level.