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Overlooking a coastal escarpment in Huizhou City, China, the Water Drop Library is a study in experiential design. Patrons access the building via a long passageway, which emerges into a circular pod like a droplet rendered in concrete, glass and steel. Beijing’s 3andwich Design set an outdoor pool atop this structure and laid out the interiors via a series of concentric circles: There’s an inner sanctum or antechamber, which gives way to a sunlit outer ring. Here, visitors can browse the stacks before undergoing yet another experiential transformation — the one that happens when you lose yourself in a good book.

Team: Wei He with Long Chen, Ziyi Wang and Xiangting Meng

Award of Merit: Buildings Under 1,000SqM
The Water Drop Library

The Water Drop Library in Huizhou City, China, is a study in experiential design.

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2014
WinnerBuildings Under 1,000SqM
Location
Sangkhlaburi, Thailand
Firm
D Environmental Design System Laboratory of Nara
Team
Kikuma Watanabe with Erika Izumi, Yusuke Kataoka, Miku Okazaki, Syunya Takahashi and Hidehiro Tamaki
2019
Award of MeritBuildings Under 1,000SqM
Location
Bogotá, Colombia
Firm
Studio Cadena, U.S./Colombia
2023
Award of MeritBuildings Under 1,000SqM
Location
Burnaby, Canada
Firm
Perkins&Will, Canada