Public library in eastern China boasts spectacular sea views

White sand caresses the door; a blue sea sparkles beyond. Sliding doors fling back to let the salt air in; each space interacting with the ocean. What sounds like an idyllic resort is in fact a public library, commissioned on a beach in Nandaihe, eastern China, as part of the Aranya residential development.

According to the developer, Tianxingjiuzhou Real Estate Development, the aptly named Seashore Library is a fusion of altruism and culture - the aim being to provide a non-profit, quiet reading place for people who live in the Aranya community, and the children of fishermen in nearby villages. Beijing-based Vector Architects was assigned the task.

From the moment he laid eyes on the site, principal architect Gong Dong imagined the building as a weathered rock, resting on the seashore. It would be an organic form fashioned from a concrete outer shell, and utilising glass to capture ambient light from various angles, changing as it does from morning to night, and season to season.

Inside lies a series of sections: a reading area, meditation space, activity room, refreshment bar, and rest area. Gong Dong says they "established a distinctive relationship between the space and the ocean, defining how light and wind enters into each room".

To give the ocean centre stage, seating platforms are raised at the back "so that everyone has an unblocked view". To avoid interruption by any structural component, all roof loads are carried by steel trusses running above the view windows. Hand-crafted glass bricks within the masonry soften the steel's hardness, and add another dimension to the varying play of light. Laminated bamboo, a durable and sustainable material used on floors and dividing walls, further softens the industrial elements.