2021 NZIA Wellington Architecture Awards - Small Project Architecture

2021 Interior Awards Finalist - Retail

The brief from owners Jane & Catherine was to retrofit an existing retail space into a welcoming and approachable bookstore in the heart of Wellington City. With a focus on accessibility and inclusiveness, the store provides sufficient circulation and a variety display options to cater towards every type of reader in ability and age. Large amounts of storage for a stockpile of books were also required due ordering delays from COVID-19. All the furniture was designed within 1180mm modules on 18mm Radiata plywood, elongating the narrow space. Purpose built furniture elements are integrated into the shelves, utilising the entirety of the space. Enough to shift the weight of books inwards, each shelf is on a slight angle, with heights and circulation spaces allowing for adequate accessibility.

JURY CITATION:

The deceptively simple and highly considered design for this new bookstore focuses on three key ideas: entry, display and lighting. An industrial building facade is given new depth and visibility with the addition of a frame for climbing plants and blue panelling that reflects the store's brand. Once inside, modular plywood bookshelves, lit from within, line each wall and allow the books themselves to become and ever-changing living wallpaper. A central table guides circulation and provides a place to pause and engage. Custom tubular pendants hang freely through the centre, delicately illuminating the high shelving and emphasising the depth of the space. This is a fine example of how an intimate design, focused on the human scale and experience, can bring a space to life.

Photographs by Russell Kleyn

Location:

Wellington

Date:

2020

Program:

Independent Bookstore