Contract - July/August 2016 - 121

Inspired by the natural beauty
of the city of Hangzhou, an
abstracted forest of books
(opposite, bottom right)
features treelike columns
adapted as shelves (opposite,
top). The benches (opposite,
bottom left), which angle
around the columns, represent
rivers. Beyond the forest is
the reading corridor (left and
below), featuring dark wood
shelves, hanging lamps, and
a row of reading tables.

Printed books are durable, portable, and often cherished objects, but
brick-and-mortar bookstores face increasing competition from online
retailers and the proliferation of digital media. Jin Hao, a Chinese
bookseller who is also a publisher, decided to create a new paradigm
for a store so appealing and well stocked that it would become both
a destination and a popular hangout. His goal was, in short, not
just a bookstore but the most beautiful interior within a given city.
Friends introduced him to Li Xiang, a designer who leads XL-Muse,
a 20-person firm in Shanghai. Li was educated in Malaysia and England,
and her firm XL-Muse has won a succession of awards for its varied
buildings and interiors. She created three stores for Jin in Shanghai,
each with a distinct personality designed to convey the spirit of books.
Bringing nature indoors
Those three retail explorations proved a run-up to Jin's Zhongshuge
bookstore in Hangzhou, a major regional city that was once the capital
of China. In this interior, Li has fulfilled Jin's goal within a busy shopping
mall, transforming a generic 10,000-square-foot space into a cave of
wonders. "Hangzhou has been called an earthly paradise for the beauty
of its scenery, its forests, and lake," she says. "In this project, the most
important element is the abstract forest. I used pillars as shelves and
distributed them randomly, like trees in nature. There are some twisty
benches around the pillars, representing rivers. Trees supply oxygen
for our lives, and the forest of books provides wisdom."
The white bookstack forest of columns can be seen through
the glass storefront, enticing shoppers to enter and explore. Here, and
throughout the store, the low ceilings are entirely covered with mirror
glass. Shoppers are caught up in their own reflections and the illusion
of seemingly infinite space, which prompts them to look to the higher

contract



Contract - July/August 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - July/August 2016

Contract - July/August 2016
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Columnist: Why You Should Never Lower Fees
Rejuvenating theMART’s Public Realm
Product Focus: Active Sitting for Engaged Comfort
Product Focus: All the Offi ce Is a Stage
Best of NeoCon Winners
Mar Adentro
South Harbor School
Zhongshuge Bookstore
Juana la Loca
Healthy Workplaces Are Critical to Business Success
Competition: Inspirations Awards
Designers Select: Textiles
Sources
Ad Index
Installation: ESI Design Transforms a Downtown Washington, D.C., Lobby with an Interactive, Visually Stimulating Installation
Contract - July/August 2016 - Contract - July/August 2016
Contract - July/August 2016 - Cover2
Contract - July/August 2016 - 1
Contract - July/August 2016 - 2
Contract - July/August 2016 - 3
Contract - July/August 2016 - 4
Contract - July/August 2016 - 5
Contract - July/August 2016 - Contents
Contract - July/August 2016 - 7
Contract - July/August 2016 - 8
Contract - July/August 2016 - 9
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Contract - July/August 2016 - 16
Contract - July/August 2016 - 17
Contract - July/August 2016 - 18
Contract - July/August 2016 - 19
Contract - July/August 2016 - Editorial
Contract - July/August 2016 - 21
Contract - July/August 2016 - Industry News
Contract - July/August 2016 - 23
Contract - July/August 2016 - 24
Contract - July/August 2016 - 25
Contract - July/August 2016 - 26
Contract - July/August 2016 - 27
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Contract - July/August 2016 - 29
Contract - July/August 2016 - 30
Contract - July/August 2016 - 31
Contract - July/August 2016 - Columnist: Why You Should Never Lower Fees
Contract - July/August 2016 - 33
Contract - July/August 2016 - Rejuvenating theMART’s Public Realm
Contract - July/August 2016 - 35
Contract - July/August 2016 - 36
Contract - July/August 2016 - 37
Contract - July/August 2016 - Product Focus: Active Sitting for Engaged Comfort
Contract - July/August 2016 - 39
Contract - July/August 2016 - Product Focus: All the Offi ce Is a Stage
Contract - July/August 2016 - 41
Contract - July/August 2016 - 42
Contract - July/August 2016 - 43
Contract - July/August 2016 - 44
Contract - July/August 2016 - Best of NeoCon Winners
Contract - July/August 2016 - 46
Contract - July/August 2016 - 47
Contract - July/August 2016 - 48
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Contract - July/August 2016 - 103
Contract - July/August 2016 - Mar Adentro
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Contract - July/August 2016 - 106
Contract - July/August 2016 - 107
Contract - July/August 2016 - 108
Contract - July/August 2016 - 109
Contract - July/August 2016 - 110
Contract - July/August 2016 - 111
Contract - July/August 2016 - South Harbor School
Contract - July/August 2016 - 113
Contract - July/August 2016 - 114
Contract - July/August 2016 - 115
Contract - July/August 2016 - 116
Contract - July/August 2016 - 117
Contract - July/August 2016 - Zhongshuge Bookstore
Contract - July/August 2016 - 119
Contract - July/August 2016 - 120
Contract - July/August 2016 - 121
Contract - July/August 2016 - 122
Contract - July/August 2016 - 123
Contract - July/August 2016 - 124
Contract - July/August 2016 - 125
Contract - July/August 2016 - Juana la Loca
Contract - July/August 2016 - 127
Contract - July/August 2016 - 128
Contract - July/August 2016 - 129
Contract - July/August 2016 - Healthy Workplaces Are Critical to Business Success
Contract - July/August 2016 - 131
Contract - July/August 2016 - 132
Contract - July/August 2016 - 133
Contract - July/August 2016 - Competition: Inspirations Awards
Contract - July/August 2016 - 135
Contract - July/August 2016 - 136
Contract - July/August 2016 - 137
Contract - July/August 2016 - Designers Select: Textiles
Contract - July/August 2016 - 139
Contract - July/August 2016 - Sources
Contract - July/August 2016 - 141
Contract - July/August 2016 - 142
Contract - July/August 2016 - Ad Index
Contract - July/August 2016 - Installation: ESI Design Transforms a Downtown Washington, D.C., Lobby with an Interactive, Visually Stimulating Installation
Contract - July/August 2016 - Cover3
Contract - July/August 2016 - Cover4
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