PAGEONE Wuxi is the first bookstore of the PAGEONE brand in Jiangnan.
Wuxi is one of the few cities where the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs through its centre. For generations, citizens living by the water have built their homes along the river, established their city based on it, and made their living from it. Wuxi has formed a unique traditional Jiangnan canal lifestyle. The new PAGEONE bookstore in Wuxi aims to create a unique space that embodies the culture of the Jiangnan canal lifestyle with daily reading feeling.
Imagine a waterside book market with the atmosphere of Jiangnan. Houses built along the river and stone lane in the front. People pick out their favourite books in the scattered bookstalls, then sit on the narrow riverbank to read. The greenery brought by the moist air and the sound of the flowing canal create an enjoyable reading experience.
Imagine PAGEONE become one of the scenes. Houses, lane, riverbank and canal are the Wuxi life and cultural elements that bring up the inspiration of the bookstore design. The interior boundaries become a reading space that captures and preserves the essence of Jiangnan.
There are several small houses in varying heights inside the bookstore. These small houses are book houses, self-study rooms, and coffee bars. The warm wooden and natural materials envelop the books. People can read and study in the immersive and surrounding space, with light from outside coming through the windows. Outside the book houses is an open space, like the book market on the street, the bookstalls display various books and stationaries. Close to the exterior facade of the bookstore is an open, double-height space. The ground podium, like riverbank, is the space for people to read and rest. The water-blue tiles flooring by the window reflect the sunlight, like the rippling river surface. The small lights on the ceiling are like spring rain, sprinkling the space. Books and texts on the hands; music and feelings in the ears; materials and temperature around the body, sunlight and greenery outside the window - all these elements create a comfortable reading space by the river.
The double-height space filled with natural light is also the main venue for gatherings and activities. The layout can be changed, people can sit on the staircases and seats of the ground podium to participate in various activities, such as new book event, film sharing sessions, and vinyl music concerts. The civic life along the riverside extends into the interior of bookstore. The stair leads to the upper level, where the experience of leisurely reading continues in a more diverse atmosphere. The coffee area, gifts and magazines, vinyl space, and self-study rooms are distributed on the upper level. Outside the entrance is a park with plantations, the natural feeling flows into the bookstore.
The time by the water in Jiangnan flows slowly. The traditional buildings in the Nanchang Street have been restored to their original appearance in recent years, but mainly attracting trendy shops and tourists. PAGEONE Wuxi is designed to retain the former vitality and aims to create a daily reading space that is unique to the city.
