HAS design and research completed The Glade bookstore in Chongqing, China based on the archetypical typology of the ancient Stilt House found in the area while thinking over concepts such as standardisation, multifunctionality and flexibility of modern bookstores.

-text by the author

DIFFERENT SPACES INTEGRATE INTO ONE UNDER THE CONTINUOUS BIG ROOF © YU BAI
THE GLADE IS SITUATED IN THE HIGH-DENSITY CITY CENTRE OF CHONGQING © YU BAI
A WINDING ENTRANCE GIVES UNIQUE ARRIVAL EXPERIENCE © YU BAI
SPECIAL TECHNIQUE OF 6MM LINES SHOWS VISUAL LIGHTNESS AND GRACE © YU BAI

The Glade is a cultural brand, as well as a compound bookstore providing a new lifestyle. It is a place for reading a book while drinking a coffee or an afternoon tea, dining at a restaurant or having a drink at a bar, a place where cultural, creative industries and irregular exhibitions meet each other. The origin of The Glade came from two famous initiator teams in Chongqing, The Razor’s Edge and One Day, who have cooperated to provide a quiet and restful place of void to Chongqing, or even busy metropolises in China.

CONCEPT – FROM CHONGQING STILT HOUSES TO A COMPLEX BOOKSTORE, THE GLADE © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
LINES FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM COMPOSED AS A WALL AS A FILTER OF THE LIGHT © YU BAI
WALLS MADE OF LINES BLURS THE BOUNDARIES © YU BAI
SEMITRANSPARENT FROSTED GLASS BLURS THE BOUNDARIES © YU BAI

The Glade is situated in the centre of Chongqing. Hundreds of years ago, in a military book named Six Secret Teachings, this place was called “the mountain city”. What is more, from the work of the mountain city of Chongqing painted by a well-known Chinese ink painter, Guanzhong Wu, we could also feel the specific topography of the mountains and various senses of scale. However, at the present time, the superb landscape is occupied by a great number of super high-rise buildings while the natural landscape turns into lacklustre concrete constructions. Only in the countryside away from the city could we occasionally find the beauty of the mountain city and its distinctive Stilt Houses.

THE DETAIL OF THIN BOOK SHELVES AND THE LIGHT © YU BAI
GRADIENT BUNCHES LINES BRINGS GUIDING EXPERIENCE IN THE SPACE © YU BAI
READING AREA © YU BAI
NATURAL LIGHT AND WOODEN FURNITURE © YU BAI

The Glade is not only a compound bookstore, but as the meaning conveyed by its name, it means tearing the cold concrete ground and planting a spiritual space in the high-density city.

A CONTINUOUS BIG ROOF OF MODERN BOOKSTORE © YU BAI
BOOKSHELVES USED AS SPACE DIVIDERS, BOOK DISPLAY SHELVES AND READING SEATS © YU BAI
THE WOODEN BOOKSHELVES AND THE LIGHT © YU BAI
SEMITRANSPARENT FROSTED GLASS EXHIBITS BOOKS © YU BAI
THE LINES OF THE ROOF AND WALL GIVES THE READING SPACE A SENSE OF POROSITY © YU BAI

The design continuous this philosophy. It connects the split first floor and second floor with the spatial form of stilt houses; the lower floor is like the grey space of stilt houses, providing functions of reading, talking, resting, sharing with space of intervals and with the design of undulating stairs, it creates a micro-mountain city to form dynamic and explorative reading space; the upper floor is a continuous big roof of the stilt houses which integrates the space of coffee, afternoon tea, restaurant, bar and bookstore by using 6mm lines. Besides, in the distinct space, the change of light and shadow, time, site and environment are still tangible.

THE LIGHT AND THE LINES SWING WITH THE WIND CREATES LIGHTNESS FEELINGS © YU BAI
THE UNIQUE LIGHTING AND SPACE © YU BAI
THE LINES BLURS THE DEFINITION OF TRADITIONAL SPACE DIVISION © YU BAI
6MM LINES AND LINEAR LIGHTING © YU BAI

The project focus on the combination of materials into the space and demonstrates unique constructional aesthetics. The Glade began with adaptation to Chongqing in the ancient form of stilt house and progressed in the exploration of complex function so as to think over the standardisation, multifunctionality and flexibility of modern bookstores. The importance of The Glade is more than its special philosophy.

ALL EQUIPMENT IS DESIGNED TO HIDE FOR A SENSE OF BLANK IN THE SPACE © YU BAI
IMPRESSIVE CURVE ROOF © YU BAI
ROOF LINE CONNECTING ALL OF SPACES © YU BAI
THE JOINT DETAIL OF THE LINES AND THE BOOKSHELVES © YU BAI

It also provides a cultural symbol and a sense of belonging beyond the busy city life in diverse and delicate spaces.

THE ARC ROOF IN THE WESTERN RESTAURANT BRINGS DRAMATIC VARIATION OF LIGHT © YU BAI
FUNCTIONS OF BOOKSTORE, COFFEE, AFTERNOON TEA, BAR, AND RESTAURANT UNDER THE SAME BIG ROOF © YU BAI
ROOF LINE SPACE © YU BAI
PVC CURVE ROOF LINE ©HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH

Drawings

SITE PLAN © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
F1 (FIRST FLOOR PLAN) – BOOKSTORE, EVENT HALL, CAFÉ AREA, RECEPTION © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
F1.5 (MEZZANINE FLOOR PLAN) – BOOKSTORE, READING AREA © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
F2 (SECOND FLOOR PLAN) – BOOKSTORE, RETAIL, RESTAURANT, CAFÉ, TEA, BAKERY, WINE BAR, VIP LOUNGE © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
DETAIL OF LINE SCREEN © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
DETAIL OF INVISIBLE DOOR © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
AXONOMETRIC – MULTIFUNCTION SPACES FOR THE FLEXIBLE NEED OF CITY DEVELOPMENT © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH
RESEARCH SHOWS THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE SPACE © HAS DESIGN AND RESEARCH

Facts & Credits
Project title  The Glade
Typology  Interiors, Retail, Bookstore, Mixed uses
Location  10, Guanyin Bridge Pedestrian Street, Jiangbei District, Chongqing, China
Site area  1,000 sq.m.
Gross built area  1,360 sq.m.
Design year  2020
Completion year  2021
Design company  HAS design and research
Design team  Jenchieh Hung, Kulthida Songkittipakdee, Kanchaporn Kieatkhajornrit, Pimpasson Gangvanpanich, Qin Ye Chen, Panhuili Cheng, Zhongjun Dou
Client  The Glade
Lighting design (Thailand)  Jenna Tsailin Liu
Lighting design (China)  Qiuwei Zheng
Lighting technology  Visual Feast (VF)
Structure consultant  Huazhu Architecture Design Group
Landscape consultant  LISM Landscape Design
Kitchen consultant  Chongqing Bailey Kitchen Co., Ltd.
Construction management  Jason Yin
Construction  Nengqiang Yu
Wood furniture constructor  Chongqing Longyi Decoration Project Co., Ltd.
Photography  Yu Bai



Check out, also, Phetkasem Artist Studio in Bangkok, Thailand by HAS design and research, here!


RELATED ARTICLES