Zhejiang University

Case Description

Our factory supplied all the office furniture for the various college office areas, the Rare Books Library, research collaboration zones, administrative offices, and academic discussion areas located within the Humanities and Social Sciences Building at Zhejiang University’s Zijingang Campus.

As a renowned architectural landmark, the building features a striking blend of exposed red brickwork and modern glass curtain walls, seamlessly fusing traditional humanistic aesthetics with contemporary style. Housing a diverse array of educational and research spaces—including multiple academic colleges and a Rare Books Library—the project presented a core challenge: the office furniture had to precisely align with the building’s hybrid architectural style. It needed to simultaneously echo the rustic, humanistic charm of the exposed red brick and complement the modern simplicity conveyed by the glass curtain walls, all while satisfying the distinct requirements of the various colleges and the Rare Books Library. Specifically, the Rare Books Library demanded furniture tailored to the unique requirements of rare book storage and reading, while the college office areas needed to accommodate teaching preparation, research discussions, and document storage. Furthermore, all furniture was required to meet university-level environmental standards and harmonize with the campus’s overall humanistic atmosphere. Conventional office furniture—which tends to be either overly heavy and lacking in modernity, or overly minimalist and devoid of humanistic warmth—proved incapable of achieving this stylistic fusion. Moreover, standard furniture struggled to meet the specific requirements for moisture control and damage prevention necessary for rare book storage; similarly, generic custom furniture failed to reconcile the diverse needs of multiple colleges with the imperative for stylistic unity across the building. Consequently, such solutions were ill-equipped to match the high-quality positioning and multifaceted functional demands of Zhejiang University’s Humanities and Social Sciences Building.

Leveraging our capabilities as a direct-source custom furniture manufacturer, we meticulously aligned our designs with the building’s architectural style and the diverse functional needs of its spaces. We utilized office furniture as a medium to achieve a natural, seamless transition between traditional humanistic aesthetics and modern simplicity. We selected eco-friendly, durable panel materials featuring a warm, refined texture; furthermore, every piece of custom furniture underwent rigorous testing for environmental compliance, abrasion resistance, moisture resistance, and load-bearing capacity. For the Rare Books Library, we designed and manufactured specialized reading tables, chairs, and storage cabinets equipped with moisture-proof and UV-protection features, thereby safeguarding the rare book collection while fully accommodating the specific requirements for both reading and storage. For the college office areas, we tailored furniture to reflect the unique characteristics of each academic department, creating pieces that are simultaneously simple, dignified, and imbued with a humanistic sensibility. The research collaboration zones were furnished with modular, reconfigurable units designed to facilitate academic discussions and team collaboration, while the administrative offices featured furniture characterized by simplicity and orderliness, perfectly suited to the demands of high-efficiency office operations. Concurrently, we extracted textural elements from the exposed red brickwork and integrated them into the intricate details of the furniture design. These details are paired with minimalist lines that echo the modernity of the glass curtain walls. Employing precise digital surveying techniques—and working in tandem with the building’s unique “detached-wall courtyard” spatial layout—we ensured that the furniture perfectly complements every specific area within the facility. Furthermore, we innovatively applied moisture-resistant treatment processes to meet the specialized requirements of the Rare Books Library. We provided a comprehensive, one-stop service encompassing design, manufacturing, installation, and post-installation maintenance, ensuring that every stage of the process remained fully aligned with the building’s humanistic ethos and functional imperatives.

Upon the project’s completion, our custom-designed office furniture proved to be in perfect harmony with the building’s architectural aesthetic—simultaneously highlighting the rustic, humanistic charm of the exposed red brickwork while echoing the contemporary sensibility of the glass curtain walls. Functionally, the furniture precisely addresses the diverse and distinct needs of the various academic colleges and the Rare Books Library. Characterized by its eco-friendliness, durability, and high adaptability, the furniture effectively enhances efficiency in teaching, research, and administrative operations. It creates a work and study environment for faculty and students that seamlessly blends deep humanistic heritage with modern comfort. The project has garnered high acclaim from relevant departments at Zhejiang University, as well as from the faculty and student body. It is widely regarded as a design solution that precisely aligns with both the building’s architectural style and its multifaceted functional demands—showcasing exceptional craftsmanship in every detail. By helping to create a workspace for the humanities and social sciences that is as aesthetically pleasing as it is practical, this project stands as a premier exemplar of custom office furniture solutions for humanities-focused university buildings.