Abstract
In recent years, as selling books on the internet becomes popular, the number of off-line bookstores are rapidly dwindling away. This change on the book market requires, the function and space of the bookstores should be defined again. Now bookstores are the places of experiences on cultures, world-views, and lifestyles around books. The study examines six large bookstores and finds three strategies of space expression as follow. First, Dominicanen bookstore in Maastricht which was built as a church has an expression which contrasts the old and the new as well as the sacred and the profane. Fangsuo bookstore in Chengdu creates a modern underground Sutra Depository. Here, people experience history and religion. Second, Cook & Book in Brussels has nine theme areas, each with a different selection of books, different interior decoration and special food and beverage like a theme park. Zhongshu bookshop in Shanghai has a lattice of nine reading rooms in which each unique design theme is characterized based on each book subject. Third, Cultura Bookstore in Sao Paulo is created to support social interchange. It leads people to the enormous plaza of books where people read books freely and participate in workshops, movies and all kinds of events. Daikanyama Tsutaya Books in Tokyo is composed of three white box-form pavilions which are connected by a 55-meter long aisle, called a magazine street. People walk along the street and choose concierge services as they browse magazines and books. The study finds out three strategies of design in current large bookstores to promote place-experience, which are the story-telling of history and culture, the design of theme parks, and openness for public mingling like plazas and streets. Thus, the study suggests a new paradigm in the design of bookstores in this internet age.