labyrinthine architecture
More than 33 million people live in Chongqing (China), the fastest growing city in the world. And not only demographically -it is estimated that 4,000 more inhabitants are added to it every week-, but also economically speaking.
But, for a couple of months, the city, full of lights and skyscrapers, has been in the news for more than its spectacular figures. We are talking about the inauguration of what is possibly the most striking bookstore in the world, the Chongqing Zhongshuge . Here too, everything is big: its surface occupies more than 3,300 square meters and is populated by books from floor to ceiling, which are accessed by the labyrinthine stairs that have made it famous.
As if it were an Escher painting, the visual game that is created between the multitude of copies and the mirrors on the ceiling gives rise to crazy compositions, a sensation that maintains its magic in the colorful children's area.
The children's area
“We hope that this bookstore, the space itself, makes readers feel as if they are outside, in the charming city. To illustrate this vision, we chose the stairs, which we believe is an appropriate element. We have transformed it into a complex functional body, which It serves both to be stepped on and to function as a shelf ”, explains to Traveler.es Li Xiang, chief designer of the study in charge of the project, X + Living .
With all this, they have managed to create a “surrealist space, with a strong visual impact”, as Xiang points out. The study itself details what it is like to immerse yourself in it: “Chongqing Zhongshuge greets visitors with a simple glass façade covered in text. Once inside, ‘lampshade bookshelves’ are scattered throughout the dark brown lobby.”
“Visitors can feel as if they are In a private study, bright and cozy, when they read under the warm light. In one corner of the lampshade-shaped foyer is a quiet reading corridor, with bookshelves extending down the hall. The shelves are reflected in the floor and form a tunnel of books that invites visitors to enter it both physically and mentally”.
Bookstore lobby, with lampshade-shaped bookshelves
“In the other corner of the hall is the children's reading room, where colorful bookshelves they simulate the landscape, buildings and transportation of Chongqing. Little ones can feel like they are in the charming city of Chongqing while reading in this room.”
“Further down, after the corridor and the children's reading room, is the main room, a hall-staircase in which this element also serves as a shelf, and the mirror on the ceiling doubles the size of the already existing one. amazing space. The place allows visitors to rest on the steps and immerse themselves in books and thoughts.”
“Above the hall-staircase there is a leisure area, where visitors can enjoy the aroma of coffee or the taste of good tea and enter a quiet world made of reading many stories. The surrounding lampshade shelving creates scattered booths in this area, where visitors can meet friends to have fun reading and enjoy their free time”.
the entertainment area
“Connected to the leisure area is the large reading room, where the great works are found and visitors can broaden their vision and enrich their spiritual world. Zhongshuge Bookstore is a good place to read books, understand life and meet others. We hope that visitors can not only read good and new books, but also meet friends with the same interests ” culminate its creators.
This last aspect, without a doubt, cannot be recreated in an online bookstore, the dominant form of business these days. “In effect - Xiang admits to Traveler.es -, we now live in a world dominated by online shopping, and it is literally much more convenient. However, we believe that there should be physical spaces where consumers can enjoy a fantastic experience that they will never be able to have through the internet ”.
The ceiling mirror multiplies the space to infinity