After the era of exploring the world through internet signals, the significance of books diminishes over time. The whole world faces this phenomenon. China is no exceptions to this trend. However, the new version of Shanghai Book City, or as the Chinese netizens call it by the name “Crystal Palace” today, has become very attractive to those new generations who don’t care about traditional books. While it may sound ironic, let’s explore the project’s design in detail to understand its thoughtfulness.
With the brilliant solutions from Wutopia Lab, the Shanghai-based architecture firm founded by Yu Ting, this old-fashioned bookstore has become more universally friendly to all kinds of users than ever. “I aim to allocate even just 1 hour from the 10 hours or 8 hours that some online users dedicate to their phones each day, enticing them to step into a bookstore with attractions not found online. This way, they can save the bookstore,” the architect stated interestingly. “I have already determined that Shanghai Book City should transform from a mere bookstore into a cultural complex with numerous applied business and social scenes, centered around knowledge sharing.”
Let’s begin with what is widely perceived as the project’s most outstanding feature. The red “Book Mountain” area welcoming users at the main entrance on the ground floor is somewhat adaptable and super flexible for both bookworms and non-bookworms.
“I utilized the original architectural height differences, combined with sidewalk design, to create a terrace-like square and formed an indoor platform named ‘Book Mountain.’ This three-dimensional mountain within the building serves as a platform. It can be used for book launches, exhibitions, and events, becoming a stage for cultural activities. Readers can freely sit, stand, peruse, and stroll. They can even engage in impromptu singing. Standing at the highest point allows one to overlook the bustling Fuzhou Road, prompting contemplation,” The architect once again explains more about this highlight feature. “I designed three overlapping double-height atriums to bring sunlight to the center of the red Book Mountain on the first floor through skylights and glass floors.”
Given Fuzhou Road’s predominantly gray atmosphere, the large red structure visible through the glass walls infuses the neighborhood with a fresh ambiance. Moreover, the original condition of Fuzhou Road lacked pedestrian characteristics; with Shanghai Book City’s new design, users can now enjoy their walking routine and gather under the sun through the project’s semi-open public cultural square.
Bookshelves are another essential scheme users will get once entering the building. “I enclosed 16′ houses within houses’ with bookshelves, hiding offices, a comedy theater, writer’s studios, wellness classrooms, an art gallery, and a café. After passing through the bookshelves on both sides, there are facilities such as fast food, tea houses, galleries, cafes, an art furniture store, a gift shop, a stationery store, elevators, toilets, and evacuation stairwells. I have no fear of commerce, and my requirements for shop owners are akin to those established in ancient cities – they must respect the continuous façade of books in my city. This ensures that different businesses are embedded in my city. This is what it means to build a city with books,” said the architect.
Wutopia has installed a 10,000-meter-long bookshelf to form the interior wrap, but these shelves perform differently on each floor. From the 2nd to the 6th floor, the books considered popular for readers fill the shelves. On the 1st and 7th floors, those that need to be stored are kept there. Lastly, the cover displays are shown on the 8th floor.
Another important feature that couldn’t be left out of our exploring session is definitely the façade of the building. Even though it has been defined as the Crystal Palace, ironically, there is no use of crystal or even glass as the material for the façade. The lighting design creates a charming illusion on these perforated aluminum panels that reminds one of crystal. As the designer said, “I recalled someone calling it a luxury goods store. Interestingly, luxury goods stores have façade costs at least four times higher than the bookstore, yet they cannot achieve the bookstore’s texture. In this light, consumerism’s luxury is indeed an illusion. In comparison, the knowledge contained in books is the true luxury.”
The renovation of Shanghai Book City not only serves as a way to gain attention back to the world of reading, but it also plays an essential role as a part of cultural landmarks in Shanghai. From page to page, Wutopia has beautifully continued telling the story of Shanghai through this impressive book piece.
Project Name:Renovation of Shanghai Book City
Architect: Wutopia Lab
Completion Year: 2023
Location: Huangpu District, Shanghai, China
Area: 11,936 sq.m.
Photo: CreatAR Images
