The award-winning Shanghai-based design firm X+Living was commissioned to design book retailer Zhongshuge’s Hangzhou and Yangzhou branch this year. The Hangzhou location was unveiled in April, while the Yangzhou location opened to the public just earlier this month. X+Living approached the Hangzhou location with the ambitious mindset of wanting to design the most beautiful bookstore in the world. As for the Yangzhou Zhongshuge store, X+Living focused instead on tying together the region’s surrounding geography and its cultural history with their design concepts.
Located within Star Avenue, a bustling commercial center in the Binjiang district, the Hangzhou Zhongshuge greets visitors with a rather simple glass facade. The transparent glass is covered with text and reveals a pure white space inside the store. Once inside, impressive circular pillars are found throughout the lobby, each ascending up to the mirrored ceiling. Bookshelves are integrated into every pillar. A doorway takes visitors out of this surreal white space and brings them into the main hall. The main hall is a quiet reading corridor, and the walls consist of dark wooden bookshelves that extend down the hallway. This area has the identical mirrored ceiling as the previous area, but rather than bright florescent white lights, amber-colored chandeliers hang overhead and provides a soothing glow through the hall. Further down the hall is the main study, a breathtaking oval room where the stairs double as bookshelves and the same mirrored ceiling overhead doubles the size of the already astonishing room. This space allows visitors to rest on the shelved steps and read. Strips of light beneath the shelves and bulbs overhead illuminate the space, but individual lamps are also situated throughout the room next to padded cushions, offering readers a comfortable reading experience.
钟书阁杭州店位于滨江区星光大道繁华的商业中心，首先映入眼帘的是铺满文字的全通透玻璃幕墙，透过玻璃幕墙后是一个纯白色空间。一旦踏入，就能看到一支支直冲镜面天花板的圆形立柱，铺满整个大厅空间，蔚为壮观。书架就嵌入在每根立柱里。通过一扇门洞，人们走出这个超现实的白色空间，来到正殿，一个幽静的读书长廊迎面而来，整面的深木色书架向着端头无尽地延伸。天花板依旧由镜面构成，但不同于一般书店里明亮的白光灯，这里天花上的镜面漂浮着一盏盏琥珀色的吊灯，让整个空间充满了柔和的美感。越过长廊便是阶梯阅读区，阶梯还能兼做书架。这里有着同样的镜面天花板，在这个有着强烈视觉冲击和设计感的空间里，人们可以休憩于高阁阶梯上，静心阅读。环抱式书架配以一道道如漩涡的灯带，配上正殿上的光亮，整个空间明媚敞亮。但每个房间里都设有个性化的台灯与舒适的靠垫，共同营造绝佳的阅读体验。
For the Yangzhou Zhongshuge location, their design revolves around the concept of water and how it is considered as the “cradle of everything, and the breeding ground of culture”. Upon entering, visitors will find themselves in a tunnel with a black reflective ground and bookshelves that curve upwards into a beautiful arc. But instead of the two sides meeting on the ceiling, a zig-zag shaped lightning bolt cuts through overhead; it reflects on the ground and forms a flowing river that beckons visitors to follow it deeper into the space. Venturing inwards, visitors will find themselves in the lobby and main reading room. These two spaces both use dramatic curving arches to support and connect one another, and these curving pillars and walls also form coves of books throughout the space. The recurring appearances of these arcs and curved arches in the space is meant to represent bridges over water, which is an analogy for bridging the minds of readers with the knowledge contained in books. Soft light illuminates the space and fills with it peaceful ambience, even this is a carefully thought-out design element that is meant to invoke images of a river sparkling in the sun.
水，万物滋生的摇篮，更是文化孕育的温床。钟书阁扬州店在设计时，一大特色就是融入了“水”的元素。走入书店，就置身于一条通廊，踏在深色的反光地面上，看着两边的书架向上延伸形成优美的弧线，但在顶端并不是连接在一起，而是形成了一种曲折宛如闪电的结构，反射在地面上，形成河流状前行，似乎在引领者读者深入更加浩瀚的知识海洋。进而向前，来到主厅和主阅览室。设计师利用造型别致的各种拱形来连接各个区域，曲线形的柱子和墙壁贯穿整个空间，形成书籍摆放之地。如此反复出现的弧线和弯曲拱形设计，都是为了呈现“桥立于水”的意向，向人们传递知识立于书本的相同内涵。柔和的光线缓缓照亮所在空间，充满了宁静的氛围，这个精心的设计也是为了让读者联想起桥下水波的粼粼之光。
Both of these bookstores also feature dedicated children’s reading rooms. The children’s rooms in both locations are vastly different from the rest of the store, but both give off an infectiously playful energy. The Hangzhou location is designed just like a playground, with the bookshelves emulating merry-go-rounds, hot air balloons, roller coasters, and even pirate ships. In the Yangzhou children’s room, the bookshelves are built like colorful, disassembled toy blocks. Countless stars twinkle overhead. Both locations are constructed to spark the imagination of children and adults alike.
两个钟书阁都专门设有儿童馆。给孩子们精心设计的儿童馆在书店中显得别具一格，都带着强烈的童趣元素。杭州钟书阁的儿童馆是一个书籍游乐场，书架全部艺化成游乐场设施：旋转木马、过山车、热气球和海盗船，寓教于乐。扬州钟书阁的书架以五彩缤纷的颜色来活跃整个空间，并做成了可拆解移动的玩具形式，配上天花板上数不清的星星之灯，整个氛围很是活泼。
Both of the new Zhongshuge locations are awe-inspiring spaces that are sure to captivate both readers and design lovers. The next time you are in Yangzhou or Hangzhou, be sure to make some time in your schedule and check them out!
无论是爱书之人还是设计迷，都会迷上钟书阁这两家新店的独特魅力。下次有机会到杭州或者扬州时，别忘了在行程中抽出一点时间，到此处一游！
Addresses:
Hangzhou Branch
Xingguang Avenue Pedestrian Street, Building 4-101
Binjiang District, Hangzhou
People’s Republic of China
Yangzhou Branch
492 Wenchang Middle Street
Guangling District, Yangzhou
People’s Republic of China
Website: XL-muse.com
Weibo: ~/zhongshuge
