Surreal Chinese Bookstores Warps Space With Light

Last year, we looked at a bookstore in the Chinese city of Chongqing by X Living that made clever use of mirrors and light to create a spectacular, immersive experience for its visitors, and the local firm has just added the finishing touches to another creation of the same ilk. The recently completed Zhongshuge bookstore brings this aesthetic to the costal city of Ningbo, mixing seemingly infinite bookshelves with quiet reading corners and plenty of places for some time out.

Completed last month, the new Zhongshuge bookstore in Ningbo covers 1,230 m² (3,240 ft²) and is spread out across two floors, with a walnut and black color scheme featuring heavily throughout. This matches with lamps and subtle lighting integrated into the shelving to create a warm and elegant interior, with plenty of glass, mirrored ceilings and reflective surfaces to make the space feel much larger than it is.

The children’s library is one exception to this, making use of bright colors and irregular shapes to create a playful environment for the young ones. A reading table inspired by rattle, or pellet, drums features, as does shelving shaped like musical instruments.

Also onsite is a cafe, a cultural and creative area and many book shelves that cut clean lines through the store and offer plenty of opportunities for some quiet browsing. The cafe area takes on a much lighter and airier look, allowing visitors to take five with a cup of coffee while surrounded by natural light and, yep, more mirrored ceilings.

Surreal Chinese bookstore warps space with glass, color and light [New Atlas]

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