Archival material, gymnasium and indoor swimming pool (1987–1991), Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung-li (Zhongli), Taiwan 台灣中壢市中原大學體育館及室內泳池（1987至1991年）檔案資料

The Taiwanese architect Wang Chiu-Hwa designed the University Library at Chung Yuan Christian University in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, in 1983. Realised in collaboration with J. J. Pan, the project was Wang’s first after returning from New York City, where she practised with the firm Percival Goodman for nearly thirty years.

The library occupies a low-slung rectangle set on a sprawling, terraced plaza, which opens access to the building from all directions. Wider upper floors cantilever over shaded sunken gardens along its edges and regulate light and airflow to the interior. Wang designed a roof shaft for natural forced-air ventilation, an innovative solution for the lack of air conditioning typical in large, open spaces in Taiwan at this time. The facade is clad in concrete-coloured tile and glass; window patterns further distinguish each level. Inside, stacks line dynamic double-height reading rooms on the fourth and fifth floors, while lower levels contain classrooms, a conference hall, an exhibition space, and lounges, among other facilities.

The building’s sensitive placement and fluid interiors activate new circulation flows on the surrounding site. Wang is known in Taiwan as the ‘mother of libraries’, and the structure has come to symbolise the campus of Chung Yuan Christian University, which earned its full university accreditation in 1980.

The series consists of a project file that includes architectural drawings and photographs of the completed building, a set of eight floor plans, a bound set of drawings of interior furniture and equipment for the library, and fifty-eight slides showing exterior and interior views of the building.