Kong Xiangwei Studio creates mushroom-shaped library in Chinese village

Stalk-like arches and canopies emulating mushrooms shelter this children's library, designed by architecture practice Kong Xiangwei Studio as a "fantastical village landmark" in rural China.

Named Mushroom Library, the building in Yanzitou Village was designed for the local government as an entrance to its future community centre, responding to the demographic shifts happening in many remote Chinese villages.

Kong Xiangwei Studio's design nods to fungi prevalent in the surrounding forests while serving as a symbol of "cultural resilience", providing space to foster cross-generational bonds.

"With only 71 households, the village struggles with depopulation and aging residents as youth migrate for work," said Kong Xiangwei Studio.

"Yet weekends brim with vitality as children return from town schools, filling the plaza near the village history museum with laughter," it continued.

"The book house, sited on a narrow rocky plot between two old dwellings and shaded by a sprawling raisin tree, acts as both a cultural gateway to the future community centre and a beacon for rural rejuvenation," it added.

Built around an existing raisin tree on the site, the structure of Mushroom Library was created in collaboration with local artisans, using ribbed steel bars woven into tall, arched forms around which concrete was then poured.

Atop these stalk-like concrete arches is an irregularly-shaped canopy punctured with circular openings, one of which has been created to allow the central tree to grow through.

"The iconic mushroom-shaped roof shifts in character: viewed from the east alley, it resembles a hat brim, from above, a whimsical face," the studio told Dezeen.

"At night, illuminated like a levitating UFO, the structure becomes a fantastical village landmark," it added.

This roof is designed to cast a changing pattern of light and shadow into the reading room below, as it is refracted through a central sculptural form of steel rods and multicoloured acrylic panels.

Around the reading room's edges, timber bookshelves are tucked between stepped and curved concrete wall sections.

"Cast-in-place concrete vaults replace traditional thatch and earth materials, ensuring resilience while evoking a primal shelter," said the studio.

"A sloped curved wall serves as seating, where children recline to watch sunlight traverse the space, transforming the book house into a living theatre of light and time," it added.

Concrete steps lead up to Mushroom Library's roof, where a small area wrapped by a metal balustrade offers visitors both views out across the landscape and a chance to pick fruit from the raisin tree.

Other small libraries recently completed in China include the Twisting Brick Shell Library near Quzhou, which was designed to "cuddle visitors", and an angular library built on an ice-chrysanthemum plantation in Xiuwu.

The photography is by Arch-translator.

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