Kaohsiung Wuguan Books
高雄駁二| 無關實驗書店
Source:
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/artic...xcaSIjERvHXGHw
At this bookstore in Taiwan, visitors shop in the dark
Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN • Published 23rd October 2020
Excerpt
(CNN) — Remember when you used to sneak a flashlight under the covers so you could read a book after bedtime? A bookshop in Taiwan promises you a similar experience.
Wuguan Books is located in Kaohsiung's Pier-2 Art Center, a warehouse-turned-creative hub in Taiwan's second-largest city. And it is just as much an art exhibit as it is a bookshop.
Visitors make their way through the store in extreme darkness, except for the dim spotlights on each of the book covers and reading lights on some desks.
The unique bookshop is created and founded by the award-winning architecture and space designer Chu Chih-kang.
Chu designed Fangsuo Bookstore in Chengdu, which local media has described as the most beautiful bookstore in China.
No flashlights allowed
The mix of the pitch-dark environment and dimly-lit books creates the illusion that the books are "floating" while the rest of the environment disappears. There are 400 bookshelves in the shop, each with just one "floating" book.
"This is designed so that people can focus on every book. In an environment where you can't see, your other senses will be heightened," Su Yu-shan, the shop manager, told CNN Travel.
The two-story bookstore is known for its lack of light.
courtesy Lee Kuo-min
But don't try to cheat by using your smartphone to light the way: The use of flashlights and flashes are banned inside Wuguan.
And that isn't the only rule at this experiential store. A list of tongue-in-cheek rules is printed at the entrance. They include "Don't shout when someone steps on your toes. Step on his/hers" and "If someone wants the same book (as you), buy the book or get his/her number."
Taiwan's pitch-dark bookstore: Wuguan Books is an experimental bookstore where readersshop in extreme darkness except for the dim spotlights on each of the book covers and reading lights on some desks.
courtesy Lee Kuo-min
'Floating books' design: The design creates the illusion that the books are floating while the rest of the environment disappears.
courtesy Lee Kuo-min
Wuguan Books, C7-6 Warehouse, 2-1 Dayi Street, Pier-2 Art Center, Kaohsiung City; +886 7 531 8813
Kaohsiung 高雄 가오슝 เกาสง
Taiwan 台湾 대만 ไต้หวัน
Linear Mode
