DAtrans Architecture Office

Timezone 8 Bookstore occupies a former workshop in M50. In addition to the main functions of the bookstore,the client wanted to include space for reading, exhibitions or cultural events and a cafe. With so many functions and limited space, the space needs the capacity for flexibility. This spatial complexity was the starting point of the design.

Three cylindrical silos contain the static functions of the bookshop whilst the remaining space, for more spontaneous purposes, is open and dynamic. Grain silos are also symbolic of the architecture of the industrial era and are essentially modern. La Corbusier, Becher and other artists used these functional shapes in their work to signify the modern revolution.

Each book silo contains its own theme: photography, art and design. All of the silos are the same height but are differentiated by their diameters. The first aim was to create transparency within the space. This was achieved by constructi at eye level and 50mm below and above, it is possible to manipulate the experience of transparency. Altogether, approximately 20,000 cross sections of PVC pipe are used. Secondly, by constructing only a general regulation for the building of the structure, the final construction was left to the artisan. The design regulations encouraged experimentation throughout the construction process in order to find the best solution. Therefore, the finished design is also a work in progress, just as in the traditional Chinese construction process where there is an element of trial-and-error.

Finally, we invited a professional graphic designer to design a logo and simple sign system using barcodes: a kind of ironic statement about over design in the commercial environment.