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    Moroni Ciovini and Ana Montero expose textured concrete walls in Buenos Aires shop

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    Local architecture studio Moroni Ciovini and designer Ana Montero have preserved the exposed layers of concrete wall for this bookstore and café in Buenos Aires.

    At just 247 square feet (23 square metres), Medio Pan cafe is just large enough to fit seating, a bar and bookshelves, which are located at the back and front of the store.
    Local studio Moroni++Ciovini and designer Ana Montero have completed a café and bookstore in Buenos AiresFor the shop’s interior, Moroni Ciovini (M++C) and Montero created a furniture unit of multilaminate guatambú wood that makes up the shop’s seating, bar and posterior bookshelf.
    A narrow bench runs along the length of the shop, facing the bar, so that visitors can get a closer look at the barista’s work, according to the team.
    The team preserved the original flooring and textured walls of the spaceStorage was integrated below the bench, while small wooden armrests were placed periodically and double as side tables.

    The seating runs directly into the bookshelf, which expands over the entrance to storage space at the back of the store. A chainlink fence extends from the top of the bookshelf to meet the ceiling.
    They created a wooden furniture system for the space that consists of seating, a bar and a bookshelfOn the opposite side of the bookshelf, a wider bench takes up the corner, providing a nook for visitors to more “calmly” enjoy a book.
    The cafe bar takes up the remaining space, with its front abutting the shop’s facade to double as a window counter.
    A soft green was used in tiles, paint, and textilesThe team created folding glass doors for the storefront, which can be arranged in a variety of positions. Small shelves were affixed to the doors, which display a changing parade of books held down by neon green elastic and small wooden pins.
    According to the team, the folding doors were created to evoke newsstands found throughout Buenos Aires.

    Florencia Rissotti uses curtains to organise Buenos Aires fabric shop

    The space was completed with soft green highlights, found in backsplash tile, cushioning and pillows that line the wooden seating, a curtain at the back of the store and Formica countertops.
    The layers and patterns of the textured concrete walls were kept largely preserved and covered with a transparent coating to display the space’s previous uses, while the team also decided to keep the original granite tile as a nod to the building’s history.
    The storefront was informed by newsstands found throughout Buenos AiresMoroni Ciovini is a Buenos Aires and Valencia-based architecture studio founded by Christian Moroni and Belén Ciovini.
    Elsewhere in Buenos Aires, designer Florencia Rissotti recently renovated a warehouse to host a fabric store and architects Julio Oropel and Jose Luis Zacarias Otiñano created a bio-art installation focused on fungi.
    The photography is by Fernando Schapochnik
    Project credits:
    Architecture: Moroni++Ciovini, Ana Montero Construction: Estudio KO

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      Ten inventive bookshop interiors designed to enhance the browsing experience

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      A second-hand bookstore styled like a greengrocer and an outlet modelled on old libraries are among the projects collected in our latest lookbook, which explores bookshop interior designs.

      Architects and designers across the globe have created bookstores with striking interiors that offer more than just a place to buy things.
      From a hall of zigzagged staircases in China to a yellow-hued grotto in east London, here are 10 bookshop interiors that provide immersive and unusual browsing experiences.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring brutalist interiors, light-filled atriums and walk-in wardrobes.
      Photo is by Hu YanyunDeja Vu Recycle Store, China, by Offhand Practice

      Chinese architecture studio Offhand Practice designed a second-hand bookshop in Shanghai to mimic the interior of a greengrocer by displaying items in familiar supermarket-style crates.
      Created to counter the “shabby” image commonly associated with second-hand retailers, Deja Vu Recycle Store features a light interior defined by stone off-cut mosaic tiles and natural pine.
      “[The project] breaks the stereotypical image of a second-hand store and erases the ritualistic impression of a traditional bookstore full of full-height bookshelves,” said Offhand Practice.
      Find out more about Deja Vu Recycle Store ›
      Photo is by Jonas Bjerre-PoulsenNew Mags, Denmark, by Norm Architects
      Coffee table book distributor New Mags commissioned Norm Architects to design the interior of its flagship store in Copenhagen, which nods to the serenity of old libraries.
      Natural oak panels were used to create towering display walls for books. Various publications are also presented on stone plinths that echo a looming, organically shaped stone sculpture by local artist Josefine Winding.
      Find out more about New Mags ›
      Photo is by Shao FengChongqing Zhongshuge Bookstore, China, by X+Living
      A maze of intricate staircases, amplified by a mirrored ceiling, forms a dramatic backdrop for this bookshop in Chongqing by Shanghai-based studio X+Living.
      Thanks to their wide treads, the stairs double as reading nooks for customers, while the overall stepped outline created in the central space intends to reference Chongqing’s urban skyline.
      Find out more about Chongqing Zhongshuge Bookstore ›

      Photo is by Žiga Lovšin
      Book Centre Trieste, Italy, by SoNo Arhitekti
      Another store interior that takes cues from its setting, this Trieste bookshop features boxy shelving that was informed by the diamond brick patterns of the nearby Trieste National Hall.
      Slovenian studio SoNo Arhitekti repeated this motif on the shop’s two sofas, which have grid-patterned upholstery. It also reserved space for chunky display podiums and a children’s reading corner.
      Find out more about Book Centre Trieste ›
      Photo is by NakanimamasakhlisiThey Said Books, Georgia, by Lado Lomitashvili
      They Said Books is a bookshop-cum-cafe in Tbilisi with an interior characterised by Tetris cube-style shelving, yellowed terrazzo tiles and bubble-shaped reflective wall sculptures.
      Georgian designer Lado Lomitashvili created the store, which is housed inside a 1930s building, to support the “cultural development” of the country’s capital city.
      Find out more about They Said Books ›
      Photo is courtesy of Pulse OnSFC Shangying Cinema Luxe, China, by Pulse On
      Hong Kong-based firm Pulse On was informed by the strings of musical instruments when designing the delicate interior of this Shanghai bookshop, which is also the lobby of a cinema.
      Thin metal slats extend vertically from floor to ceiling to create bookshelves, while integrated lighting bathes various seating areas in a soft glow.
      “We wanted to create a zen resting space for the guests through the mix of ‘strings’ and ‘books’,” explained the designers. “All of this boils down to simplicity and purity of lines – no highly-contrasting colours are used.”
      Find out more about SFC Shangying Cinema Luxe ›
      Photo is courtesy of SelgasCanoLibreria, UK, by SelgasCano
      Author Jorge Luis Borges’ 1940s tale The Library of Babel informed the winding, cavernous interior of Libreria, a London bookshop designed by Spanish studio SelgasCano.
      Handmade shelves were crafted in irregular shapes by artists from the Slade School of Fine Art using unfinished recycled wood. They house the store’s many books, which are arranged thematically rather than categorised traditionally, in order to encourage “chance encounters while browsing”.
      Find out more about Libreria ›
      Photo is by CreatAR ImagesDuoyun Bookstore, China, by Wutopia Lab and Office ZHU
      Five different colours delineate the zones inside this Huangyan bookstore, which includes reproductions of rare books exhibited in a tall, wood-panelled stairwell.
      Duoyun Bookstore was designed by Wutopia Lab and Office ZHU to feature layers of perforated metal on its facade – a move that saw two disused buildings renovated to create the shop.
      Find out more about Duoyun Bookstore ›
      Photo is by Arch-ExistXinglong Lake Citic Bookstore, China, by MUDA Architects
      Chinese studio MUDA Architects topped a lakeside bookstore in Chengdu with a roof shaped like an upturned book that creates a sweeping ceiling on the interior.
      Large rectilinear windows are positioned at the edge of the lake to offer views of the surrounding scenery, while the glass extends beneath the waterline to create a peaceful and immersive setting for reading.
      Find out more about Xinglong Lake Citic Bookstore ›
      Photo is by Fernando GuerraLivraria Cultura, Brazil, by Studio MK27
      The Livraria Cultura – or Culture Bookshop – was designed by Studio MK27 in Brazil’s São Paulo to be “a bookstore of the 21st century” that encourages social interactions.
      A vast double-height room is defined by wooden bleachers that span the 21-metre width of the space, where customers are invited to stay and read or meet up even after they have bought their books.
      Find out more about Livraria Cultura ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring colourful living rooms, decorative ceilings and deliberately unfinished interiors.

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      Offhand Practice designs second-hand bookshop in Shanghai to mimic greengrocer

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      Used books are displayed in supermarket-style crates at the Deja Vu Recycle Store in Shanghai, which local studio Offhand Practice has designed to counter the “shabby” image associated with second-hand shops.

      The store, which also carries pre-owned fashion, is located on the first and second floor of a three-storey building on Shanghai’s buzzy Anfu Road.
      The Deja Vu Recycle Store is located in Shanghai’s Anfu RoadOn the interior, Chinese architecture studio Offhand Practice hoped to create a relaxed shopping environment despite the large number of goods on offer, which includes more than 2,000 pieces of clothing.
      With this aim, the studio set out to mimic the experience of going to a greengrocer by displaying clothes and books on shelves typically used to hold fruits and vegetables, while giving all products equal prominence regardless of price.
      A long gallery-like corridor leads to the staircase for the first floor”Picking up books in the way of picking up vegetables and fruits gives a feeling of enriching the spiritual basket,” Offhand Practice explained.

      On the ground floor, the studio recessed the building’s entrance and framed it in cream-coloured mosaic tiles to create a small shelter while making the towering facade feel more welcoming.
      Second-hand books are displayed in supermarket-style cratesOne of the main challenges for the studio was to encourage passersby to walk through the building’s ground floor – consisting of a long corridor bookended with space for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) equipment– and climb the stairs to reach the Deja Vu Recycle Store.
      This was achieved by turning the corridor into a kind of gallery, showcasing the process of refurbishing second-hand goods.
      “Taking advantage of the narrowness, we identified spatial depth through layers of opening,” the studio explained.

      AMO cocoons Jacquemus store in pillows to create “bedroom-like” interior

      Books are displayed on the building’s first floor and clothing on the second. Both levels have an open-plan layout with circulation routes defined by shelving and clothes rails.
      Mosaic tiles made from stone off-cuts were used to form decorative wainscoting in the same creamy beige colour as the facade, which channels 1970s Shanghai interiors.
      Contrasting green tiles were used to frame the generous window openings revealed during the building’s renovation, and to form integrated window seats.
      Green mosaic tiles were used to frame the building’s windowsNatural pine was used to form the cashier counter, shelves and book crates to add a sense of warmth to the interior.
      Offhand Practice said it designed the store to break with negative preconceptions around second-hand stores being “dull, disorganised and piled with shabby objects”.
      “Deja Vu Recycle Store breaks the stereotypical image of a second-hand store and erases the ritualistic impression of a traditional bookstore full of full-height bookshelves,” the studio said.
      The tiles were also used to emphasise arches and other architectural detailsThe store was recently been shortlisted for large retail interior of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
      Other projects in the running include a surrealist pop-up shop designed by Random Studio for fashion brand Jacquemus and a concept store that Schemata Architects has created for an outdoor brand in South Korea.
      The photography is by Hu Yanyun.

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