Zhongshan-Hangzhou library Muse XL

The Zhongsuhge-Hangzhou library is located in the great Star Avenue shopping complex in the city of Hangzhou, one of China’s new industrial megalopolis.

The interior design of the study in Shanghai XL Muse was inspired by an idea of ​​the sanctity of culture and ritual of reading, with a touch of oriental mystery.
Glass and mirrors are the materials that characterize the project. A large glass wall signals the store. You enter a completely white space interrupted by transparent columns that enclose circular shelving books: the columns are arranged at random and height is visually doubled by mirror panels in the ceiling. The effect is that of a forest where the visitor can wander to discover the titles on display.

In the mirrors expand the space of the designers intentions, to give the impression of a larger visual horizon and the light emitted from the columns that contain the books draws the lights of knowledge. “In every area of ​​the library – say the designers – is the presence of a definition of the book and through the design conveys respect for reading and knowledge.”

An opening in the mirrored wall leads into a “reading corridor” a reading hall with dark shelving. The shelving continues on the walls of a large oval room the “reading theater”, where reading places are set up with dedicated lights, which create a welcoming environment, with the comfort of big pillows.
At the end of the path a space dedicated to children, with toy trains, balloons and pirate ships

An original mix of library, reading room and library, which returns the sense of adventure and intimacy of hours devoted to reading