Architecture studio Wutopia Lab has used layers of perforated metal to transform two disused buildings on the banks of Taizhou's Yongning River into a bright and modern bookshop.
Rather than demolishing the existing buildings or attempting to perform "cosmetic surgery" on their cluttered, commercial facades, the studio decided to simply wrap the structures in white aluminium panels.
Duoyun Bookstore's Taizhou outpost (above) features a perforated aluminium facade (top image)
The resulting facade offers varying levels of translucency, revealing traces of the original buildings that now house Chinese retailer Duoyun Bookstore's first outpost outside Shanghai.
"By controlling the perforation rate, the facade creates a cloud of layers hiding the bookstore," explained Wutopia Lab founder and chief architect Yu Ting. "The continuous white aluminium wall is used as an addition to create a serene and pleasant visual subtraction. A cloud rises over the riverside and the readers of the bookstore are in the cloud."
Undulating cutouts in the facade suggest the shape of clouds
The original plan of the site, which Ting describes as "scattered and unfocused", was reimagined to house a number of small gardens as well as a central courtyard to connect the buildings into a single complex.
In the process, Wutopia Lab had to work around two other, privately owned buildings on the site, using the fence between them to mark out a small front yard and entra...