Global Retail Alliance
info@gra.world
  • Login
  • Register
  • Newsletter
  • Virtual Library
  • Choose your country
    • Australia
    • Brazil
    • China
    • Poland
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
GRAGRA
  • Home
  • Membership
    • Silver
    • Gold
    • Platinum
  • Event
  • News
  • Retail Tour
    • Our Tours
    • Europe Retail Tour
    • Retail Tour – New York
    • Retail Tour – Düsseldorf
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Membership
    • Silver
    • Gold
    • Platinum
  • Event
  • News
  • Retail Tour
    • Our Tours
    • Europe Retail Tour
    • Retail Tour – New York
    • Retail Tour – Düsseldorf
  • Contact

Retail Design & New Openings

  • Home
  • Retail Design & New Openings
  • A new bookstore opens in east London

A new bookstore opens in east London

  • Categories Retail Design & New Openings
  • Date March 10, 2016
  • Comments 0 comment

Spanish studio SelgasCano has completed a concept bookstore in east London, with handmade wooden bookshelves based on the fictional Library of Babel and a strict no-phone policy.

Located at 65 Hanbury Street, Libreria is intended to inspire a fresh appreciation for books rather than digital devices, and for handicrafts.

José Selgas and Lucía Cano, the architects behind last year’s colourful Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, used the 1940s tale by Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges, The Library of Babel, as the starting point for their design.

This fantasy story features an almost infinite library where hexagonal galleries contain every possible combination of letters. The architects attempted to recreate this sense of boundlessness using irregular shapes and mirrors.

The project is being led by Second Home founders Rohan Silva and Sam Aldenton, who previously commissioned SelgasCano to design their flagship creative space, also in east London.

The project has been years in the making, according to Silva, and will also integrate a printing press and a community space.

Walls on both sides of the shop are covered in the handmade shelves, built using unfinished recycled wood by artists from the Slade School of Fine Art.

They angle outwards, creating several zigzags, and integrate nooks where visitors can sit down and read. They also form partitions between different areas.

Books are organised across the shelves by theme, rather than being broken up into typical categories. Some are also displayed on tables, built using the same wood as the shelves.

The entire ceiling is mirrored, making the bookshop appear twice the size.

Other details include mismatched chairs and a variety of lamps, all chosen by Selgas and Cano.

Libreria will operate a no-phone policy to encourage visitors to treat the space as a sanctuary. But it will make use of digital software to manage both its stock and its events programme – encompassing everything from seminars to performances.

International authors will be invited to speak and to curate shelves, and bespoke print runs of limited-edition titles will be created from the printing press. There are also 24-hour events planned for the space.

Discover more

  • Share:
gsiino

Previous post

Samsung follows Apple into Chinese mobile payment market
March 10, 2016

Next post

How teen-focused retailers do Instagram
March 10, 2016

You may also like

Celine
Celine Shop-In-Shop Opening – Paris
15 March, 2023
TOTEME
TOTEME Shop-in-shop in Seoul
3 March, 2023
y-3
Y-3 opens its first ever store Down Under
3 March, 2023

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search News:

News category:

News Archive:

Last News:

UK retail sales boosted by second-hand and discount stores
24Mar2023
Panera Bread will use palm-scanning technology for its loyalty program
24Mar2023
Celine Shop-In-Shop Opening – Paris
15Mar2023
Private labels: the future of luxury department stores?
06Mar2023
Euroshop 2023! Top 75 Specialists & Key Highlights
04Mar2023

© 2022 Global Retail Alliance | info@gra.world | Privacy Policy