With the new winning competition entry for the Jiaxing University Library & Media Center, LYCS seeks to break antiquated design conventions by intelligently negotiating contemporary architectural design into the traditional Chinese campus. Surrounded by rich woods and luscious water, the 42000m2 library plays with hierarchy – the hierarchy of multiple, increasingly private spaces; the hierarchy of the pace of spatial experience; and the hierarchy of introversion and extroversion. A division between the campus and the courtyard, the library encourages public activities in the courtyard and on the roof garden while limiting excessive visual interruption to the three lobes. Instead of using the traditional circulation of straight staircases, a gently sloping ramp wraps the core creates a softer circulation experience that responds to the information-oriented architecture. Slicing the corners off of the triangular plan softens the form and allows for better utilization of daylighting. The double layered facade lifts from the ground plane by a nurbed surface, creating a theatre-like experience of form : as one progresses toward the center court, the facade curves extrudes to a height of 35 meters, expanding into three roof gardens that converge toward the geometric center of the plan. A floating crystalline form is achieved by the juxtaposition of the glossy reflection of the aluminum/glass facade and the gentle curves of the lakeside. The first two levels of the building contain museum, archive, and network center, with a library above. The views at the perimeter open to the landscape outside, while the ramping forms create varying vantage points within the building, weaving a multiplicity of experiences between thegreen spaces, reading spaces, and common areas.

Project Leader: RUAN Hao, Devin Jernigan,ZHAN Yuan

Project Team: Vedrana Puhalo, JIN Shanliang, Max Peterschmidt, LI Yan,CHEN Rong

Project Period: 2012-2014

Size: 42,000 sqm

Architect of Record: Architectural Planning Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University of Technology