Encircled by an elevated grassland outfield in the isolated part of an agricultural area of Zhejiang Province, near the city of Quzhou, China, the Twisted Brick Shell Library by HCCH studio lies. It is a library pavilion that attempts to investigate the potential for integrating colloquial material culture with modern formal expression. Built in 2023 with a combination of perforated steel plates, red bricks, and concrete materials. The pavilion integrates with its surroundings but stands out as an example of architectural ingenuity.

About HCCH studio

Hao Chen and Chenchen Hu established the HCCH studio in Shanghai in 2018. Their work encompasses public art, interior design, and architecture, with a focus on the multidimensional practice of everyday life. To encourage long-lasting beneficial ecological and social commitment, they aim to push the boundaries of rules?and standards?by investigating particular, creative, and difficult behaviours. One of the significant HCCH studio projects is the Twisted Brick Shell Library, which is designed as a pioneering attempt at combining traditional building materials with digital modernization in rural construction. The design also aims to generate an enchanted experience that goes beyond the perfect portrayal of the “countryside.? The design team of HCCH studio: Hao Chen, Chenchen Hu, Yida Hou, Wenxi Li, and Xi Cai, and the structural consultant: Zhun Zhang/AND office.

Twisted Brick Shell Library design concept

The Twisted Brick Shell Library’s main objective was to investigate how contemporary formal expression may be incorporated into colloquial material culture and built without using typical masonry techniques, instead using red bricks cast in place to create the continuous shell. Make an integration between digital accuracy and traditional materials. The structure seems to be a test case for assembling the shape using the common brick, developing this material into further potential. Red brickwork is an age-old technique that has been used for decades in building construction since it is energy-efficient in the summer and winter seasons and has high durability and a natural appearance. They are significant sustainable building materials. Through reading and contemplation, the Twisted Brick Shell Library encourages users to interact with an extended world by acting as a modernized refuge for the human body, mind, and spirit appearing in the wide Chinese countryside, expanding from the grass.

What makes the Twisted Brick Shell Library a unique experience?

Spirally designed to invite people to discover the links between past, present, and future, this structure aims to provide an eternal experience in the philosophical library of the cultural heritage that inspires modern creativity. It is an evidence of peaceful coexistence. Through the aperture at the top of the shell, sunlight filters into the dark interior. Through the tiny holes in the walls, visitors may read writing contained within the acrylic balls. A grid of 24 tiny acrylic domes, placed at eye level. A poetic moment is created where mind, spirit, and nature are connected by the text overlaying the environment. Twisted Brick Shell Library is created as a space for various uses where attendees are welcome to read or delight and relax in the surroundings. Within, a brick bench encourages readers to immerse themselves in a book while spending time in nature while providing seats against an array of expansive views. In addition to strengthening ties to nature with a structure exposed to the environment, the shell?that is purported to be a library?may also have a calming influence. Besides the locals and visitors, the Library has hosted a series of reading workshops by artist Shaomin Shen, encouraging a closer bond between individuals and their surroundings.

Key components of the Twisted Brick Shell structure

It is a spiral shell, with dimensions of almost 5 meters high by 10 meters in diameter, remarks an innovative architectural design. Two hemispheres that sweep from one to the other to distort the boundaries between the interior and exterior create the continuous surface shape of the Twisted Brick Shell library, linked by a twisted wall section. As for the structural innovation in construction, three main components form the entire structure of the library shell: High-strength concrete is poured within the red bricks after they are supported by perforated steel sheets that serve as a steel-reinforced framework. The red bricks, with 12 diverse widths, are spaced out along the grid in order to maintain the radial consistency of the construction. Red bricks are one of the sustainable materials that allow for flexibility in design and a long lifespan cycle since they are composed of organic minerals. They are even longer-lasting, chemical-free, and far more cost-effective in contemporary brick architecture. Thus, the shell creates a visually striking and innovative structural logic derived from stacked and interconnected brickwork. Aesthetically, the concrete simulates the appearance of the usual brick houses in the adjacent town by giving the idea that mortar is between the brickwork. The typical tectonics of brick construction are subverted by the fragmented matrix arrangement of the brick and the constantly fluctuating thickness of the mortar.

Sources

• https://hcchstudio.com/
• https://www.stirworld.com/see-features-studio-hcchs-concept-library-treads-the-line-between-formality-and-idiosyncrasy
• https://designlab.gr/newsite/2024/05/17/meet-the-twisted-brick-shell-library-a-surreal-pavilion-for-visitors-to-read-in/
• https://archello.com/project/twisted-brick-shell-concept-library-2
• https://mensgear.net/hcch-studio-twisted-brick-shell-library/
• https://www.mrfixitbali.com/materials-and-methods/red-bricks-233.html