Mengzi NSAU Bookstore of Librairie Avant-Garde

In the summer of 1938, the scholars of the National Southwest Associated University arrived in the border town of Mengzi. They carried crates of manuscripts and books, seeking a temporary sanctuary on the shores of Southlake Park. Here, professors like Wen Yiduo and Zhu Ziqing lived and worked. Wen Yiduo earned the nickname 'the gentleman who never goes downstairs' due to his intense, isolated study, while Zhu Ziqing guided young writers by the water, composing verses that floated across the lake.

Today, the Mengzi NSAU Bookstore of Librairie Avant-Garde stands on this historic shoreline, designed by architect Zhang Ke of ZAO/standardarchitecture. Completed on March 25, 2023, the 894-square-meter structure is a physical dialogue between different eras. Zhang Ke preserved a concrete tavern and a brick bell tower built in 2006, integrating them into a new, rolling serpentine loop of rough wood-grained concrete.

Visitors feel the weight of history through tactile materials. The roof is lined with red Balau wood, mirroring the red roofs of the historic university campus across the water. Local gray bricks, laid by hand using traditional masonry techniques, cover the older facades to highlight the original arches and columns. Inside, a steel spiral staircase winds up the preserved bell tower, leading to an observation platform with views of the lake.

The building opens itself to the elements. Thirty wooden screen doors and large glass sliding doors line the inner courtyard, allowing the lake breeze to drift through the reading spaces. Inside, a grand book wall guides readers upward, housing the region's largest collection of literature on the university's history. The space operates under the school's historic motto, “Rigid and Resolute.” As evening falls, the orange and purple sunset reflects on the water, connecting the modern reader with the scholars who once watched the same horizon, holding the cultural embers of a nation.