Enjoy 2 free articles a month. For unlimited access, get a membership now.

Not Just a Library

J.C. Architecture

SAVE SUBMISSION
Silver

1 / 10

Comments
Innovation
Functionality
Creativity
Eco-Social Impact
Total
JURY VOTES
Cultural Space
7.43
7.29
7.64
7.71
7.52
William Barrington-Binns
William Barrington-Binns Director of Photography at WBB & Co.
8
6
8
7
7.25
Anastasia Karandinou
Anastasia Karandinou Architect, Senior Lecturer at University of East London
8
8
8
8
8
Johnny Chiu
Johnny Chiu Founder at J.C. Architecture
6
7
6
7
6.5
Corien Pompe
Corien Pompe Chairman and Founder at Donna e Mobile
6
9
7
8
7.5
Jasper Blüm
Jasper Blüm Senior Designer at Colliers
7
7
7
6
6.75
Chen Xiaohu
Chen Xiaohu Cofounder and Brand Director at BloomDesign
7
6
7
8
7
Bret Recor
Bret Recor Founder & Creative Director at Box Clever
8
8
8
8
8
Jason Traves
Jason Traves Chief Creative Officer at Lucky Fox
6
6
6
7
6.25
Richard Parr
Richard Parr Founder at Richard Parr Associates
6
8
7
3
6
Li Baolong
Li Baolong Cofounder and Creative Director at BloomDesign
7
7
7
6
6.75
Stefano Giussani
Stefano Giussani CEO at Lissoni New York
8
7
8
8
7.75
Joanna van der Linden
Joanna van der Linden Global Retail Identity & Design Manager at Nestlé Nespresso
4
8
7
5
6
Client
Taiwan Design Research Institute
Floor area
436 ㎡
Completion
2020
designer
designer

This is not just a library, not just a 83-year-old bathhouse monument, not just a cultural venue. Down the corridor, with lights filling upwards and incoming scent of books, one can let go of the chaotic outdoors and enjoy being bathed in spirits and knowledge. Taking the inspiration from a drop bathhouse, pick up a book from the bookshelf made of stacked birch plywood, sink it in. The plywood reveals a gentle light that accompanies people like a book bath, immerse them in invisible thoughts. Words recording speeches, speeches shaping the communication between the inspiration and creativity between inner hearts and mind. Here, it doesn’t just serve the purpose of personal gatherings, the possibilities are indefinite, from concerts, lectures, extension stages, transforming the concept of an original bathhouse into an experimental showcase of literature. Following down the stairways, uncovers the half-a-century old bath house that was for female employers at a tobacco factory, where they used to wash off the tobaccos sticking to their bodies. The vintage tiles on the wall, mottled with the years, retain the traces of past life, adorned with golden details to present the beauty of wabi-sabi; respect the imperfections and architectural limitations of historic buildings without adding more steel bars and screws. The sun shines on the ventilated patio and the suspended steel cable woven arc lighting reflects each other, blooming downward, illuminating the modern thoughts, time and years. The preserved arc bath and the modern book pool present a combination of the new and the old, the space. To continuously pass down the timelessness of the history. The inner space of the garden has a private and tranquil atmosphere. The texture of time is imprinted on the surrounding walls, letting go of superfluous expressions, and anti avant garde materials that urge people to consciously let go of superfluous things. The branches and leaves spreading upward, up to four meters high, spreading out a touch of light in between, and the sun shone and shone among the translucent green leaves of the treetop. The mixed plants are juxtaposed and blended with the historical wall. Different levels of greenery are set against the ash of the gravel. In this simple and harmonious space, light, shadow and form all show graceful temperament. At night, when the trees and flowers are illuminated by floor lamps, the garden seems to be immersed in a mysterious and silent world, quietly revealing the history. It is with hope that words are seen as mist and knowledge is seen as water, to represent the spirit of bathing: thoughts, considerations and self-growth of gratitude to be transformed into the cultural heritage and radiate outward.