Steel slats form sculptural shelves at Tianjin Zhongshuge bookstore by X+Living

Architecture firm X+Living has renovated a large bookstore in Tianjin, China, using layered brickwork and slatted steel to form wave-like shelves, steps and seating that flow around its central hall.

The project, which is shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2025 in the retail interior (large) category, involved the transformation of a building in Tianjin's Italian style district into a store for book retailer Zhongshuge.

The building's setting, in an area known for its early 20th-century interpretations of classical Italian architecture, informed the decision to use red brick as the primary material for the renovation.

"The original modern building clashed with its classical surroundings," X+Living said. "The brief demanded architectural and interior integration that respected the neighbourhood atmosphere while introducing contemporary innovation."

The studio transformed the existing structure by adding brick facades featuring classical proportions, along with Italianate details including decorative columns, round arches and projecting eaves.

The brickwork is laid in horizontal layers with distinct gaps intended to evoke the look of Venetian blinds.

This detail introduces a sense of lightness, transparency and rhythm that reduces the overall visual mass and lends the structure a more accessible and welcoming feel.

"The design attempts to blur the physical boundaries of the building, reminding people that the boundaries of knowledge and cognition are fuzzy, but the spiritual core is clear and firm," said X+Living founder Li Xiang.

"Just as bookstores, through their interplay of commerce and culture, dissolve the distinction between profit-making operations and public welfare sharing, they embrace a sense of openness and accessibility to the public," Li said.

"Boundaries don't represent a fixed state; on the contrary, I believe they are filled with exploration and struggle," she added. "They assert a definition while leaving gaps, inviting conflict and challenge."

The store was intended to function as an open and inclusive public realm, with its fluid layout designed to invite exploration while celebrating Tianjin's maritime history and the global exchange of ideas.

"Layered steps ascending to the main area not only symbolise humanity's pursuit of knowledge, but also reflect the port city's identity, while light-filtering blinds suggest permeable cognitive boundaries," the studio said.

The interior continues the facade's layered aesthetic, with stacked steel plates surrounding a grand central hall. The metal structures form bookshelves that flow around the space, rising up in places to create stairs and seating elements.

The pared-back palette of dark-blue steel and contrasting earthy brick surfaces emphasises how these two structural materials, which are left in their raw state, are used to achieve a variety of functions.

The bricks were custom-made in many different shapes and sizes to achieve the complex contours that define the bookstore's spatial layout and key functions.

The architects claimed that approximately 400,000 bricks were produced and carefully chosen to create sculptural forms that defy perceptions of conventional masonry construction.

"This new exploration of bricks attempts to de-emphasise technology and return to the reflection on form itself, making a fundamental and original innovation in the material," the studio added.

"The design deconstructs the spatial vocabulary of classical Western architecture, translating the core of craftsmanship with local culture, ultimately expressing the emotional narrative of the city itself."

X+Living has worked on several bookstore projects for Zhongshuge, including one in Chongqing featuring mirrored ceilings and zigzag staircases, as well as a store in Yangzhou where arched shelves and a mirrored floor create the illusion of a tunnel of books.

Li Xiang studied architecture at Birmingham City University before establishing X+Living in 2011. The firm's expressive projects aim to capture the emotion and spirit of a place using geometric forms, colour and symbolism.

The photography is courtesy of X+Living.

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