Small Project of the Year 2014 award goes to
a community library with a rooftop playground

World Architecture Festival 2014: a village library in China with a roof that doubles as a playground has been selected for the inaugural Small Project of the Year award at the World Architecture Festival.

Architects John Lin and Olivier Ottevaere worked with a team of students at the University of Hong Kong to design and build The Pinch, a library and community centre in the earthquake-damaged village of Shuanghe in Yunnan Province.

The twisted wooden roof of the structure extends out to meet the pavement, creating a surface that visitors can walk over and that children can play on, overlooking a new basketball court.

Inside, interlocking timber frames create bookshelves that are suspended from the ceiling and hover just above the floor. Simple school benches offer flexible seating, while polycarbonate plastic doors and windows front the building.

Speaking to Dezeen earlier this year, Lin said the building was designed to house “an important aspect of village life”. He explained: “By adding the library, we have created an important public and communal facility in the village.”

The prize was awarded as part of the World Architecture Festival in Singapore.

For more on this project, including plans and information from the design team, click here »

Read more

• Architecture
• News
• Slideshows