Sea Library by ETAT Architects // Awashima, Japan.

What do you get when you mix Scandinavian design with a Japanese aesthetic? A symphony of beauty, simplicity and extraordinary detailing. In other words – every designer’s wet dream! Stockholm-based Erik Törnkvist and Malin Belfrage of ETAT Architects have designed this little library dedicated to the sea. The space is located inside a 1920s schoolhouse on Awashima Island in the Seto Inland Sea. The Library is part of the Setouchi Triennale 2013 – it is a place where visitors are invited to donate books about the history and stories of the ocean.

ETAT’s refurbishment is designed to highlight the material and spatial qualities of the existing timber building and to enhance it’s relationship to the sea. The architects have used brass as a predominant material for the new insertions, from fittings, to wall surfaces and the central 3.6 m square reading table. Gentle ripple across the reflective brass surface the table creates wavy reflection reminiscent of water. So simple, and super beautiful.