Guizhou Media Vocational School Library by West-line Studio: A Regional Tribute

Located in Qingzhen, a district west of Guiyang in Guizhou Province, the Library and Information Center anchors the Guizhou Media Vocational and Technical School’s 20-hectare campus. The project acknowledges the district’s rich educational history. Qingzhen was home to early 20th-century church-run schools that expanded access to learning, and this legacy is woven into the architectural narrative of the library. Through an interplay of light, color, and spatial progression, the design evokes a meditative atmosphere that gestures toward these historic institutions’ spiritual and intellectual significance.

Guizhou Media Vocational School Library Technical Information

• Architects^1-6: West-line Studio
• Location: Qingzhen, Guizhou Province, China
• Gross Area: 18,876 m² | 203,179 Sq. Ft.
• Completion Years: 2025
• Photographs: © Yong Tan, © Yuanping Li, © Chengyon Liu, © Minghua Ou

The architects played with heights and natural light, filtered through colored glasses and iconic skylights, to recreate a meditative but grand atmosphere, almost spiritual, a reference to those churches which constitute such a meaningful chapter of regional history.

Guizhou Media Vocational School Library Photographs

Guizhou Media Vocational School Library Design Strategy

The library and information center comprises two primary volumes, oriented along a south-north axis that responds to the site’s natural topography. The student library is a visual threshold at the southern end, marking the transition from the open campus to an increasingly enclosed and introspective space. As the structure moves northward, it follows the terrain’s gentle slope, forming a series of courtyards that accommodate offices and studios.

This sequential progression from openness to enclosure establishes a spatial hierarchy reminiscent of ceremonial movement. The architecture choreographs the experience, beginning with expansive views and culminating in enclosed, contemplative spaces. Internally, a matrix grid of layered arches punctuates the plan, creating a network of overlapping sightlines and fostering both collectivity and moments of quiet reflection. These design elements draw inspiration from the courtyard within a courtyard typology found in traditional mountain settlements and the spatial rhythms of classical Chinese academies.

Materiality and Construction

The choice of materials is integral to the project’s dialogue with its environment. The building’s exterior is clad with a synthetic coating mixed with red sand, locally sourced and cost-effective. This finish evokes the red weathered rocks characteristic of the region’s hills, visually rooting the structure within its landscape. The facade’s texture and coloration establish a material continuity with the natural world, while its subtle shifts in plane and slope mirror the geological features of the surrounding terrain.

The juxtaposition of the sturdy, red-toned exterior with the luminous, cathedral-like interiors enhances the building’s spatial and experiential duality. The design intends to mimic natural forms and forge a new synthesis of landscape and built environment that reinforces the library’s role as a cultural and intellectual landmark within the campus.

Light, Color, and Cultural Symbolism

Natural light is harnessed as a primary architectural element. Suspended light wells descend at varying heights, diffusing soft, colored light that animates reading and study areas. These sculptural skylights lend the space a theatrical yet contemplative quality, recalling the region’s church architecture and referencing the building’s function as a media and performance studies hub.

Color further deepens the building’s symbolic language. The architects selected red, yellow, and blue to echo the Taoist five elements, with red symbolizing vitality, blue representing wisdom, and yellow denoting the sacred. The play of light and color within the library provides more than visual interest; it infuses the space with a layered narrative that bridges local cultural heritage and contemporary educational ambition.

Guizhou Media Vocational School Library Plans

Guizhou Media Vocational School Library Image Gallery

About West-line Studio

West-line Studio is an architectural practice based in China, renowned for its sensitive engagement with the cultural and geographic contexts of the country’s southwest regions. Led by Haobo Wei and Jingsong Xie, the studio explores how architecture can simultaneously respond to the natural landscape and local heritage while advancing a contemporary design language. Their work often integrates regional materials and vernacular forms to establish a dialogue between tradition and innovation that resonates with local communities and broader architectural discourse.

Credits and Additional Notes

1. Lead Architects: Haobo Wei, Jingsong Xie
2. Interior Design: Yudan Luo
3. Structural Engineers: Yuanping Li, Dingping Fu
4. Site Supervision: Dingping Fu, Minghua Ou
5. Credits: West-line Studio
6. Floors: 5