Comprising a trio of functions - research, teaching, and office space - the building recalls both traditional printing blocks, as well as the Chinese capital’s signature hutongs and courtyards. Defined and connected by a series of voids, it is a striking addition to this most prestigious of campuses.

Comprising a trio of functions - research, teaching, and office space - the building recalls both traditional...

The facility’s functionality is layered vertically, moving from open and public at its lower levels, to private and enclosed up top. Working with the surrounding landscape of carved out patios and precincts, the library’s two entrances are at different levels.

The facility’s functionality is layered vertically, moving from open and public at its lower levels,...

Calling for a higher degree of privacy and quiet, the three floors above are occupied by the library itself. Organized in a spiral, its rotational symmetry centers around a central void.

Calling for a higher degree of privacy and quiet, the three floors above are occupied by the library...

Moving higher up the building still, the top three floors are occupied by offices for academic staff, as well as seminar rooms. In stark contrast to the openness of the levels below, the restricted-access area is calm, quiet, and almost cloister-like in its privacy.

Moving higher up the building still, the top three floors are occupied by offices for academic staff,...

The voids and carved-out spaces that define the building’s interior are thematically continued on its exterior. In particular, the continuous and tapered diagonal window of the library’s reading and study areas give transparency to the structure’s middle three storeys to intriguing effect.

The voids and carved-out spaces that define the building’s interior are thematically continued on its...