Daan Library Introduction
Next to the Lu Guang Four Village, this building that resembles a school auditorium, with its red bricks and green window frames and the nostalgic characters of "Zhong Zheng Hall," is hard to resist stopping to admire. This place was once a cinema in the eyes of the local elderly and was transformed into the Taoyuan City Library, Daan Branch in 2011, becoming a cultural space to promote arts and literature. In 1964, the Ministry of National Defense's Army Headquarters established a recreational and health center here, providing a venue for officers, their families, and Daan residents to enjoy films. Today, the Daan Library, which carries the life memories of local residents, still retains the characteristics of 1950s military industrial architecture. The original ticket booth has become a mail drop-off and return book slot. The facade facing Chongqing Street is symmetrical along the central axis and features pebbled mountain-shaped walls, creating a modern architectural aesthetic with minimalist lines. Entering the library, the undulating floor, rows of audience seats, and the film projection holes on the walls lead travelers back in time to the cinema days. The multimedia screening room located in the center of the first floor continues the image of the former cinema, while the restoration exhibition area on the second floor stores old roof tiles from Zhong Zheng Hall and film projection tubes, along with an introduction to the restoration history on the walls. Another highlight of the library is the Fink-style steel frame rooftop, with its interlaced steel structure adding a retro industrial vibe to the old building. Climbing up to the loft and looking down enhances the visual tension. The two-story high design allows the interior to feel transparent and unconstrained, with not only reading areas but also window sills laid with cushions, enabling visitors to leisurely indulge in the vast sea of books at any time and place.
