Fangsuo Commune in Xi'an

The project operates as a bookstore, but it has more functions than ordinary bookstores. Situated in G Park, a fashionable landmark in Xi'an, it shows an innovative exploration of future city, and is aimed at becoming an inclusive platform that gathers people and evokes inspirations and creating a new, dynamic urban lifestyle.

It’s a single building with a construction area of 5,000 m2 in Xi’an. The bookstore has a larger spatial volume than others in the series. It attempts to cooperate with 25 brands for the first time, covering cultural and creative industry, life aesthetics, buyer shop, catering and a related lab. In this way, the bookstore continues to play the role as a planner and operator of urban cultural space.

Taking cues from “barbican” in ancient Chinese military defense facilities and “doorway” of ancient Rome’s city wall, its architectural design adopts a lightweight facade made of bright and transparent materials. The interior space uses wood because of its unique and soft texture. A giant annular green book tower sits at the center, with a height of 5 m. The shelves are built with green lacquered boards with low saturation. Those shelves show an unordered sense against the background of heavy solid wood and terrazzo. The lighting design artfully blends light into the architecture, using shadows to outline the structural beauty. The design also highlights the rhythm of building material and texture under the changes of light and shadows. The overall light effect presents a strong visual contrast between dark and bright.