Zhongshuge Bookstore — Suzhou, China
All too often, bookstores offer a static experience, comprising of uniform rows of books, good lighting and not much else. By all accounts though, Shanghainese design studios Wutopia Lab and ArchUnits had fun pulling together Zhongshuge bookstore – the name literally means ‘love book pavillion’, though it also references the name of the owner’s daughter.
With stylish chutzpah, the design bucks not just conventional norms of what a bookstore should look like, but also its location on the second floor of an atrium mall in an office tower in Suzhou’s new central business district. To impose order on the sprawling space, the designers have dropped perforated aluminium from the ceiling, moulding the panels into sinuous waves of soft pastel colours, with each shade of pink, red and green demarcating a particular zone. From the street level, the effect is of a metallic rainbow.
Low-rise white-coated bookshelves create a kind of bibliographic valley that rises through a series of shallow platformed steps – even these are embedded with books – and culminating in long dark-stained shelves that stretch around the central core. Thin legged reading tables and low-slung chairs provide convenient browsing perches, whilst the children’s zone comprises 3D cut-outs of residential porches, all clustered around a dark dome lit with optical fibres to create the illusion of a night-sky.
ADDRESS
3F South Tower
Suyue Plaza
Suhua Road
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
The moments fashion met art at the 60th Venice Biennale
The best fashion moments at the 2024 Venice Biennale, with happenings from Dior, Golden Goose, Balenciaga, Burberry and more
By Jack Moss Published
-
Crispin at Studio Voltaire, in Clapham, is a feast for all the senses
New restaurant Crispin at Studio Voltaire is the latest opening from the brains behind Bistro Freddie and Bar Crispin, with interiors by Jermaine Gallagher
By Billie Brand Published
-
Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe goes up for sale in landmark Christie’s auction
The proceeds of ’Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection’, running this June, will go to the charitable causes she championed during her lifetime
By Jack Moss Published
-
Inside Palazzo Versace Macau, a lavish, mosaic-rich hotel
Palazzo Versace Macau, the brand’s first hotel in Asia, continues to preserve Donatella Versace’s swanky hospitality vision
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Assouline’s new Mexico City book to inspire your trip
‘Mexico City’ by Aleph Molinar and Anfisa Vrube is a journey through the cultural landscape, Aztec history, cuisine, architecture and community
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘Tokyo Jazz Joints’ captures the vanishing world of Japanese jazz kissa culture
New book ‘Tokyo Jazz Joints’ uncovers the ephemeral beauty of Japan's ‘jazz kissa’ – bars and coffee houses devoted to the vinyl or CD experience
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Sam Youkilis’ ‘Somewhere’ is an ode to the beauty of everyday life across cultures
Photographer Sam Youkilis unveils new book ‘Somewhere 2017 – 2023’, the world as seen through his iPhone camera
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Cesare Cunaccia's ‘Dolce Vita’ book captures Italy’s infinite passion for life
Experience the dolce vita lifestyle through Assouline’s newly published title
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
‘Hotel Kitsch’ uncovers the whimsical world of adults-only fantasy getaways
‘Hotel Kitsch’ is an A-to-Z guide to sleazy and hopelessly romantic American vacations
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico
By Chadner Navarro Published
-
West Kowloon wonders to discover now
Cultural and culinary adventures, extraordinary spaces and outstanding experiences in West Kowloon, Hong Kong
By Simon Mills Last updated