Anagrama's stairway to book heaven in a former hacienda in Mexico

MONTERREY – For this Libreria Conarte bookstore in Mexico, the designers at Anagrama imagined it as a nook where visitors can lose themselves in a book. This space was designed to promote the experience of reading, with an emphasis on ‘experience’. Located in a renovated hacienda, the design preserves existing stone walls, wooden ceiling beams and old window frames.

The architects poured the floors and stairs in concrete and crafted the new furniture and bleachers from pine plywood. The concept of the interior focuses on manufacturing an environment capable of wrapping the reader up comfortably, activating the imagination and welcoming them to spend more time there, not just to make a purchase, but to enjoy the act of reading.



Aside from holding books, in a nimble act of trompe l’oeil, the shelves knit together and bend fluidly to form a dome under the ceiling that recedes into the remote distance of the not-so-far-away rear wall, playing with visual perspective.

Two additional elements help to reinforce the forced perspective: tiers of stair-like bleachers painted with a colourful ombre finish also create a perception of depth and, at the very back, a simple, illuminated half-circle on the wall serves as the vanishing point of the composition.



Photos Estudio Tampiquito.

anagrama.com

This project can be found in Powershop 5. This inspiring retail bible which features 100+ store designs. For more information about the book, and to order your copy, go to: http://store.frameweb.com/powershop-5