Juanzong Books and Eureka! Touring Library at Aranya / genarchitects
Bookstore – Juanzong Books is located at the Anaya Art Center in Qinhuangdao. It was originally a coffee shop with two spaces connected together, one high and one low, about 100 square meters in total. The clear height of the high space is 6m. Guests enter from the second floor of the Art Center and walk down the stairs to the concierge. The low space is only 2.5m high and opens towards an outdoor sunken theater. Due to the construction period being only one month, we have retained all walls and floors without any hidden construction work and only changed the atmosphere of the space by replacing the suspended ceiling and furniture. Since it is an architectural bookstore, it should have a corresponding atmosphere, not too fashionable or too exquisite. The items in the space should be simple and direct, creating a sense of ‘workspace’. The lighting should also use a suitable color temperature for work, instead of the usual warm feeling. We designed all the pendant lamps and bookshelves that shaped the bookstore’s personality and chose a classic form — also an anonymous form — with a long history of drawing tables and stools. We envisioned the space filled with picture albums, drawings, and models that could withstand some messiness.