Dulwich College Seoul ‘Inquiry Hub’ Library Wins 2021 AIA International Award

The Dulwich College Seoul Inquiry Hub is a library and interactive learning space for primary school children ages 4 through 7. As a renovation of an outdated children’s library, the new design implements the idea of ‘interior urbanism’ to create immersive spaces that foster creative learning and play. While the existing library placed children and books across a low, horizontal datum, the new design takes advantage of the double-height volume and uses landscape-like stairs, mezzanines, a hammock, and central tower to create a sense of individual agency. Through the nested scales of new elements, children and adults can interact in diverse social ecosystems, from one-on-one to collective engagement.

The Inquiry Hub intersects with the larger academic community through its transparent entry and reading bay window. Interior elements are carefully positioned to draw students into a bookstacks area with an adjacent book mezzanine. This zone creates ‘future memories’ through abstractly referencing an urban arcade and historically significant libraries from around the world. In the double-height multi-purpose area, the afore-mentioned landscape stair with integrated bookshelves allows children to gather in various groups.

The library’s central figure is a 2-story tower supporting a hammock: Together they form a vertical learning and play experience. The added dimension allows access to two levels of front-facing books – a display format that inspires children to interact with learning materials. The top portion of the tower faces a flexible 2nd floor classroom reserved for language learning, technology, crafts, and lectures and workshops.