Platinum Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2020
Guiyang Zhongshuge Bookstore
by Xiang Li
- A' Design Award 2020 Platinum Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: X+Living
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 704,231
- Verification code 93FAE050E8 · Verify this award
About Guiyang Zhongshuge Bookstore
With the mountainous corridors and stalactite grotto-looking bookshelves, the bookstore introduces the readers into a world of Karst cave. In this way, the design team brings fantastic visual experience while at the same time spreads the local characteristics and culture to a larger crowds. Guiyang Zhongshuge has been a cultural feature and urban landmark in Guiyang city. In addition, it also bridges the gap of the cultural atmosphere in Guiyang.
Li Xiang's Guiyang Zhongshuge Bookstore emerges as a profound meditation on the relationship between architecture, knowledge, and human aspiration, situating itself within the contemporary movement of experiential retail design while drawing upon centuries-old traditions of sacred spatial construction, the designer appears to have conceived this environment as more than a commercial venue, instead proposing a secular temple where books become both ornament and sacred object, the technical achievement resides in the seamless integration of parametric design computation with traditional woodworking warmth, creating surfaces that feel simultaneously futuristic and timeless, the compositional strategy employs bilateral symmetry reinforced by the mirror floor to suggest cosmic order and completeness, while the dual spatial experiences of linear tunnel and spherical vortex offer visitors alternative pathways through knowledge itself, one suggesting directed linear progression, the other embracing encyclopedic totality, the chromatic restraint of the warm wood palette establishes visual coherence while allowing the multicolored book spines to emerge as jewel-like accents, the lighting design demonstrates particular sensitivity, using linear elements to trace architectural profiles while avoiding harsh shadows that might diminish the inviting atmosphere, thematically the work engages with enduring questions about how physical environments shape our relationship with ideas and learning, suggesting that spaces dedicated to knowledge deserve the same architectural ambition historically reserved for religious or civic monuments, one might observe resonances with the infinite libraries imagined by Borges or the cosmic geometries of sacred architecture across cultures, viewers are invited to consider how the experience of entering such a space might transform the act of selecting and reading a book from mundane transaction to meaningful ritual.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The purpose of Zhongshuge is to build the most beautiful bookstore in China. According to this aim, Guiyang Zhongshuge not only pursues aesthetics in its design, but also combines local cultural characteristics and local conditions, and creates entity bookstores with rich differentiation. The most distinctive karst landform of Guiyang was moved into the interior, which bringing readers a cave-like experience.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The floor area of the project is 3400 sqm.
- Tags
- bookstore, guiyang, china, civic interiors, library, cultural
- Production Technology
- In terms of the cultural and creative corridor, where rows of stalactites down the ground against the black glass of the ground seem like infinitely extended waiting for readers to explore. On the book stand of ship type, chandeliers are shelved going along the water flow on the ground, which introduce readers through the treasures of knowledge. The cultural and creative area takes the conception of karst landform. The mountain-shaped bookshelves are intertwined and wind along the path.
- Design Challenge
- To create karst landform in this shopping mall, first of all, designers need to consider whether the height of the floor matches the actual environment. And when creating the cave environment, designers need to consider how to restore the real scene more vividly under the premise of ensuring the safety of readers.
- Project Duration
- The project is finished in October 2018 in Guiyang, China.
- Operation Flow
- Designers pay attention to the experiential needs of consumers and create a comfortable and mysterious reading environment for readers. The Guiyang Zhongshuge has become not only a bookstore, but also a comprehensive experience place integrating thinking, reading, leisure and chatting. Inspired by the environment, readers can explore the treasures of knowledge.
- Research
- With the impact of online shopping on traditional bookstores, designers are keenly aware of the growth of consumer experiential demand. By designing mysterious and fantastic bookstores with rich cultural connotations, readers are attracted to enter physical bookstores and the reading experience brought by physical bookstores.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration of Guiyang Zhongshuge comes from natural landscape of Guizhou, geographical features and original cultural, for example, the prototype of cultural and creative area is karst landform peculiar to Guizhou.
- Image Credits
- Image#1: Photographer Shao Feng, Guiyang Zhongshuge, 2018.
Image#2: Photographer Shao Feng, Guiyang Zhongshuge, 2018.
Image#3: Photographer Shao Feng, Guiyang Zhongshuge, 2018.
Image#4: Photographer Shao Feng, Guiyang Zhongshuge, 2018.
Image#5: Photographer Shao Feng, Guiyang Zhongshuge, 2018. - Patents
- Copyrights belong to Shao Feng, 2018.
Colors of Guiyang Zhongshuge Bookstore
Get Guiyang Zhongshuge Bookstore
Experiential Retail Interior Design
We transform commercial spaces into immersive destinations that captivate visitors and drive business success. Our award-winning approach combines cultural narratives with innovative spatial design to create retail environments, hospitality venues, and cultural spaces that become landmarks.
G0E23 Shop