Gong Dong
When we first saw the Seashore Library by Vector Architects we wondered if such a project and such a building could really exist, located as it is on a beach, standing alone at the edge of the sea. The fact that it is a library added another level of richness to this dream, since the Library as an institution is one of the most important freespaces in our society. When Vector responded to our invitation, they told the wonderful story of how this “small space triggered such a level of social energy”, attracting three thousand people a day from all over the nation.
The architects have witnessed a completely unexpected level of use of this little building, originally intended for seventy-five readers.
In this case, architecture reflects and satisfies a “strong thirst for cultural and spiritual nourishment” in a time when commercial values are so prominently promoted.
Beautiful drawings express thinking, searching, making. The drawings are worked, like worn tools, layers of graphite building up an energy of their own. The exhibit is a built space which feels like a cocoon, an amphitheatre space, a place of reflection and calm, of mystery, representing the quality of this wonderful Seashore Library.
YF+SMcN