Project Background
As the last free-flowing river in China without dams, the Nujiang River winds through the folds of the Hengduan~ Mountains in western Yunnan, separating Gaoligong Mountains and Biluo Snow Mountain to its east and west. The Nujiang Grand Canyon Bookstore of Librairie Avant-Garde is situated atop the Gaoligong Mountains, facing across the river toward the two sacred mountains of the Lisu and Bai ethnic groups.
In 2021, TAO was invited by Librairie Avant-Garde to design three new stores in Nujiang Prefecture, marking the third collaboration. The site is in Lushui, the prefecture's capital city, situated in the southern part of Nujiang. Embraced by the Biluo and Gaoligong Mountains, the city serves as the southern gateway of the Nujiang Canyon as well as the first stop of Avant-Garde's upstream journey along the river.
Yangpo Village, where the bookstore stands, perches on the Gaoligong ridge. It is a primitive Lisu settlement for generations. The Lisu originally resided in the vast river valleys of the Yalong and Jinsha Rivers in Sichuan and Yunnan and migrated to northwestern Yunnan due to the war threat in the mid-16th century, forming one of the dominant ethnic groups along Nujiang River. Adapted to the harsh terrain, they developed distinctive tools, particularly crossbows and arrows, which became a cultural totem and a key inspiration for the project.
Site Features
The project is located at the entrance of Yangpo Village facing toward the canyon, naturally embodying the boundary between civilization and nature. The site originally had an unfinished viewing platform with a panoramic view of the canyon, offering a prime vantage point of the Hengduan Mountains, which also gave the name of “Nujiang Grand Canyon Bookstore of Librairie Avant-Garde.”
The unique site conditions shaped the architect’s initial vision of a forward-stretching volume. The steep slope and towering mountains, combined with the protrusive structure, transforming the bookstore into a suspended platform. Readers within the space are surrounded by canyon views from the north, east, and south, creating a sense of walking among the clouds.
The prominent location also positions itself as the village’s landmark and the public face of Librairie Avant-Garde. Thus, the building must serve as a striking, avant-garde symbol while maintaining a dialogue with the village—distinctive yet harmoniously integrated with its surroundings.
Architecture as a Media
How architecture balances individuality with local context is the central question throughout the design. The Lisu village stretching along the ridge of Gaoligong Mountains embodies both strong natural characteristics and cultural identity, which architecture must respond to.
As an ancestral Lisu settlement, Yangpo Village has developed organically along the contours, capturing the distinct texture of mountainous terrain. However, as dwellings of different periods have replaced and compressed one another, traces of construction from various eras overlap, resulting in a chaotic and collage-like appearance. Within the intricate historical context, the bookstore ultimately adopts a completely contemporary language to respond to the prevalent sloped-roof typology of the village, representing a highly abstract expression rooted in the present construction context. Through this dialogue, the bookstore also becomes a media that connects the past and present of the village.
The slanted spaces created by the structure establish a connection with the mountainous environment. Perched on the slope at the village entrance, the building's inclined geometry and steep gradient combine with the site's natural topography to form a dynamic momentum of “an arrow on the bowstring.” The exterior walls feature multiple openings oriented in different directions, whose shapes resonate with the building’s dynamic form. Each opening frames a unique view of the canyon landscape, through which the building becomes a medium connecting people with the sky and the land.
Two Circulations
The building consists of three levels, interconnected by two separate circulation routes. Wandering along these routes inside and outside the building, one experiences an ever-changing sequence of spaces, where one encounters moments that are at times narrow and lofty, at times dim and profound, and at times spacious and airy.
Internal circulation begins at the lofty café on the top, with its sloping roof directed toward the sky, creating a spiritual ambience. Descending to the mid-level bookstore, visitors are sheltered from nature by heavy concrete walls on three sides. The lower-level theatre is illuminated by two skylights beneath the water surface casting a shimmering light.
At the end of the theatre stand two 6-meter-tall camphor-wood doors which open and close once a day like a ritual. Inside the doors, people read, recite and engage with past souls; outside, Nujiang thunders with fury while the land rests in silence. The canyon unfolds as the stage's curtain, where the Nujiang and literature converge.
The external circulation begins at the entrance, where two opposing forms define a narrow and elevated entry space, much like the canyon composition formed by the Nujiang River flanked by towering mountains on either side. Moving forward from the entry space and descending along the central axis, one suddenly transitions from the artificial "canyon" to the natural canyon, revealing a sense of openness.
It is clear from the aerial view that the main entrance of the building is aligned with the main road of Yangpo Village. The outdoor circulation connects the two viewing terraces on different levels, forming a public space permanently open to villagers and visitors. In this light, the bookstore can be understood as an extension of the village’s public space facing the canyon where contemporary architectural language merges with vernacular mechanics. Librairie Avant-Garde, as its name suggests, stands at the forefront of the village, lifting the crossbow of the Lisu people towards the far reaches of poetry.
Librairie Avant-Garde has brought the contemporary cultural spark to the ethnic minority settlement of Yangpo Village. Taking the bookstore as a fulcrum, Librairie Avant-Garde will further rejuvenate the village’s cultural vitality and draw global attention to both the ethnic minorities and the Nujiang Grand Canyon in the future.
