This 2400 m2 bookstore in the Eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo celebrates spatial fluidity and variety, organic geometries and the notion of circulation as a journey, the ultimate 'people mover', the drive capable, through curiosity, to spark and sustain life in public spaces as well as in cultural commercial venues.
The space was designed with the intention of being a destination for people to linger and spend time in, where the core function of book appreciation was to be complemented by a wide variety of activities, enabling customers to sit and read, to study, to take part in workshops or live events. A thorough lifestyle experience, in other words, that is aspirational and transcends the simple selling of products.
A double height small auditorium and event space and a section dedicated to children were part of the program together with a teahouse, a juice bar, a coffee shop, and a bakery. With multiple third party tenants operating within the space our design had to guarantee flexibility of use and capacity to adapt to multiple programs and brand identities while still being coherent and consistent design wise with the overall concept.
The journey starts at the ground floor entrance, through a renovated glass pavilion that leads to a hanging grand staircase, designed like a spiraling bookshelf that connects the entrance to the mezzanine and to the main floor below.