Shulin Architectural Design has created a serene reading space for the residents of the Liangjiashan village, located in an ancient mountain forest in China’s Wuyi county, Jinhua, Zhejiang province. Aimed at providing a calm and quite place for children, young people, and the elderly, the book house incorporates a semi-outdoor open space on the ground level while the upper floor encloses two rounds of back-shaped bookshelves and several reading areas.

Surrounded by mountains and the dense forest, Shulin Architectural Design’s book house sits not far from the village’s square, beside which are well-preserved courtyard houses made of rammed earth. Ten columns hold the entire wood and steel structure creating a semi-outdoor patio on the ground level, complete with a water surface that reflects nature, time, and space. “The setting of the patio looks like it is waiting for a certain time – for the sun to cast in a beautiful shadow, for the rain to drip ripples, or for the breeze to blow in,” notes lead architect Liu Dongying. “At those moments, the patio is set as special space waiting for its significance of being created. The essence of rural architecture as I understand is a state in which people and space, people and nature, and people and time coexist harmoniously. This patio, makes it happen by including sunlight, rain and air into the interior space.” After viewing this wooden book house be sure...