"LonelyLibrary / Axon Landscape LonelyLibrary / Diagram" by Chenglu Xue, Zijie Wei, Yaxin Sun (ZAL STUDIO)

Archival Pigment Print on Photo Paper  

23" × 33" 

NFS

The following statement applies to both Lonely Library Axon Landscape and Diagram. These works explore the paradox of loneliness in an age of constant connectivity, questioning how contemporary urban life and the spatial systems that organize it shape human relationships. Rather than treating architecture as a neutral container, the project investigates how spatial relationships can actively influence social behavior, emotional perception, and the distribution of privacy within public institutions. By gradually transforming the boundary between public openness and private enclosure, the design creates a continuous spectrum of visibility, interaction, and isolation. Users remain physically connected to the collective environment while experiencing different degrees of psychological distance, suggesting that loneliness is not merely the absence of others, but a condition influenced by the ways our cities, public spaces, and social infrastructures are designed. At a time when loneliness is increasingly recognized as a public concern rather than simply a personal condition, the project proposes architecture as both a cultural and civic instrument that can reveal—and potentially reshape—the invisible relationships between individuals and society.