Tianjin Zhongshuge is a renovation that tries to solve a very specific problem: the site sits in Tianjin’s Italian-style district, where century-old brick buildings have a strong visual identity, but the original bookstore was a more generic modern box.
X+Living’s answer was to rebuild the experience around the one material the neighborhood already “speaks” red brick, so the store feels rooted in its surroundings without turning into a period piece.
The mesmerizing fabrication inside references science fiction, with a bit of H.R. Giger thrown in for good measure.
Brick isn’t used as a background finish here; it’s the structure, the circulation, and the display system. The facade is brick, the spiral staircase is brick, and the individual book “rooms” and arches are brick as well.
The project used about 400,000 custom bricks, hand cut, with different sizes and types made to fit each area’s requirements. Much more like a fabrication job than a typical interior build.
In the main central space (the article describes it as a “nave”), the design shifts: layers of dark blue steel slice through the brickwork to add contrast and a more industrial note.
X+Living says this section is inspired by blinds, the idea is that gaps and slats break up what would otherwise be heavy masonry, letting the space feel more open and encouraging sightlines through the building.
What makes the whole thing work is that the brick-and-steel logic continues into the details. Shelving, benches, and built-in seating read as extensions of the architecture, not furniture placed afterward, so you don’t get the usual retail clutter of mismatched fixtures.
The result is a bookstore that feels highly designed, but still practical: clear paths, lots of places to stop, and smaller reading pockets that balance out the big headline space.
The design aims to blur the physical boundaries of the architecture, suggesting that the boundaries of knowledge and cognition are vague, yet the spiritual core is clear and resolute.
5 Comments
Kudos to the architect who came up with this very creative and visually appealing design, both in the overall appearance and in the attention to detail! And a hearty well-done to the builders who executed the vision so beautifully.
While it is mesmerizing to view, all I can think of is the dusting and cleaning required to keep every surface looking sharp. It looks great now, but when dust, dirt, and cobwebs appear on each surface, and between each and every layer, as they inevitably will, the effect of a sharp, new design will fade into a dingy and dated idea.
Not a single human in any “photo.” Are these images AI generated?
Different, Unusual, lots of stairs to climb, it doesn’t look very functional.
Great design like the black nice