Something for unique design fans

feline groovy · ‎07-29-2014

WOW!

Very cool.

Stranger than fiction: A giant sideways spiral bookcase is the spectacular main attraction in this surreal new bookstore in China

The new Zhongshuge bookshop in Shenzhen was designed by Li Xiang of Shanghai-based X+Living studios
Its central feature is its whimsical staircase, which serves as both a bookshelf and a huge artistic installation
Zhongshuge is a chain of bookshops across China, renowned for imaginative interiors

DailyMail.Co.UK 30 November 2021

Is this the world's wackiest bookstore?

The defining feature in the newly opened Zhongshuge bookshop in the city of Shenzhen, China, is an enormous spiral staircase that twists around the shop - but customers can't climb it. The jaw-dropping snaking staircase - which even features an ornate bannister - in fact serves as a fantastical bookshelf.

Li Xiang of Shanghai-based X+Living studios is behind the design of both the shop and the bookshelf, which doubles as 'a huge artistic installation'.

The bookshop, which opened this autumn, is divided into four separate spaces - a 'concept' area, a 'forum' area, a children's reading bay and a conference space.

According to a statement from the studio, the staircase-bookshelf runs 'in a curved trajectory through the entire concept area' and connects with the entrance and exit, with bookworms able to wander through the coils, picking up novels along the way.

'The designers have taken the symbolism of the ladder of wisdom and integrated the elegant and dignified bookshelves in the forum area into a towering ladder, creating a sacred temple of knowledge,' the statement explains, adding that the structure intends to create an 'intimate reading experience'.

Elsewhere in the shop, the children's reading area is a riot of pastel colours and cartoonish shapes that aims to conjure up 'colourful and joyful memories'.

A Ferris wheel and a castle are built into the wall in yet more whimsical bookshelves, created using 'simple lines and graphics' and 'childlike brushstrokes'.

The table at the centre of the space was designed to look like an amusement park carousel, 'inviting children to make friends with books'.

There are also 'levitating tables' with legs that blend in with the black-tiled floor to create a 'surreal atmosphere'.

Describing the story behind the design, Li Xiang says: 'In the process of researching the cultural background of this city, I realised that I could design a space which could become a symbol of Shenzhen itself as an inclusive and vibrant city of migrants, paying tribute to all those who have struggled to make history in this city.

'Thus, this retail space, which seems to have grown out of a giant art installation, was born.'

Zhongshuge bookstores are a chain of bookshops across China, founded by book publisher Jin Hao. Since 2010, X+Living studios has designed over 20 of the chain's premises, creating spaces with spectacular, awe-inspiring interiors.

In 2016, it unveiled the Zhongshuge Bookstore in Hangzhou, which features mirrored ceilings and an 'enchanted woodland' children's area with tree trunk shelves and huge statues of mushrooms.

Three years later, in 2019, the studio turned its hand to the Zhongshuge store in Chongqing City, using huge mirrors and symmetrical staircases to create a mesmerising design.

It has also designed stores in Ningbo, Beijing, Guiyang, Chengdu and Shanghai.

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Marp · ‎03-09-2010

I think I'd feel like I was on a Hogwart's set.

The eyes through which you see others may be the same as how they see you.

Foxxee · ‎10-03-2014

It's nice China has the money they made off of U.S. companies to build something so extravagant.

We don't.

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@Foxxee wrote:
It's nice China has the money they made off of U.S. companies to build something so extravagant.

We don't.

@Foxxee You said it! The old saying "more money than sense" came to mind when I saw these. I love unique things, but if something isn't really useful it is most often a folly.