Miniature cultural complex
Toyou Bookstore by Wutopia Lab
© CreatAR Images
Lorem Ipsum: Zwischenüberschrift
The Toyou Bookstore, which was designed by Wutopia Lab, is one of the most popular bookstores in Shanghai. The store is located in The Roof, a building by Jean Nouvel, and offers visitors far more than just books. It has a bar, a study room and secret spaces that invite customers to stay a while.
© CreatAR Images
Lorem Ipsum: Zwischenüberschrift
The idea behind the name and concept for the store come from client Lin Feng. The namesakes are the two mountains known as Big You and Little You, where scholars once hid books that Emperor Qin Shi Huang had ordered burnt. In other words, the name creates a symbolic connection between the past and the future of Chinese culture.
Lorem Ipsum: Zwischenüberschrift
The two mountains reappear inside the bookshop in abstract form. Right at the entrance, visitors encounter a wall of white artificial stone tiles: this is Little You Mountain, an area devoted to new publications as well as the most-read books. Wooden bookshelves with small niches invite visitors to read; burgundy-coloured perforated aluminum walls lead into the main space of the shop – the interior of Big You Mountain. Because of its size, this mountain appears as an abstract depiction. However, the labyrinthine, cave-like paths create a lavish spatial experience with moments of surprise.
© CreatAR Images
Lorem Ipsum: Zwischenüberschrift
What makes this bookstore so special is the owner’s concept for creating a cultural and social place that can combine wine, tea and books. Visitors can enjoy this combination in the main space of Big You Mountain, which is divided into a reading area and a living room. The living room is furnished with large tables and a long bar offering drinks and small snacks for sale. Books are a ubiquitous feature of this space.
© CreatAR Images
© CreatAR Images
Lorem Ipsum: Zwischenüberschrift
The client’s secret place is between the two main areas. A round portal allows a view inside the light-flooded private space. The design is sleek and straightforward.
Architecture: Wutopia Lab
Client: CIFI Group
Location: The Roof, Shanghai, China (CN)
Construction management: Shanghai C-yu Space Design
Lighting design: Chloe Zhang
Gallery
These articles might also interest you
-
A bookshop as an experiential space
Zhongshuge Shenzhen by X+Living
A little steampunk, a little Harry Potter: with the Zhongshuge bookshop in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, Li Xiang’s X+Living studio has again demonstrated how a stationary bookshop can be attractive to visitors.
-
From prison to luxury hotel
Bodmin Jail Hotel in Cornwall by Twelve Architects
For sixty years, nothing more than the four-storey, roofless walls were left of the historical Bodmin Jail in the County of Cornwall, located in southwest England. Twelve Architects have now renovated the building as a luxury hotel with a visitors’ centre.