DDi - August 2010 - (Page 18)

18 | Design Snapshot A shoppable library A retail approach puts the customer at the forefront at this Dutch public library By Alison Embrey Medina, Executive Editor hat if your local public library shopped like your favorite local bookstore? That was the challenge for Amsterdam-based Concrete Architectural Associates BV when it set out to design all of the public spaces within the new public library in Almere, Netherlands. While cashwraps and barcodes were not top of mind, the new Bibliotheke Almere, which opened in March 2010, is as much retail as any of its bookstore counterparts. “At the request of the client, we contributed to the development of the shop concept: a commercial approach, instead of a standard library positioning and structure, where books are presented to a ‘customer’ and where the library itself becomes a place to stay—more like a modern retail concept,” says Jari Van Lieshout, project architect, Concrete. The design team studied not only typical libraries for inspiration, but also analyzed a significant number of retail concepts to determine the overall structure for the space, as well as the experience factor. Housed in a building designed by Meyer en van Schooten Architects, the overall design scope for the five-level library consisted of bookshelves and accompanying facilities, including counters, Internet areas, a read café, study areas and a multimedia department. Within the new library shop concept, books are arranged according to different topics or “shops,” versus the typical numerical organizing system associated with libraries. Each section resonates a different lifestyle-orientated space, such as youth, culture, health, travel, etc., where likeminded books are frontally presented in an open setting, making browsing easy and interesting for the meandering visitor. Winding bookcases organize the landscape and create an adventurous journey of sorts from one section to the next. The bookcases are built in a range of one straight and five curvilinear modules, each with the ability to move shoppers through the space. In addition to simply housing books, multiple functions are integrated into the bookcases, such as seating, workplaces, info terminals, counters and lighting, creating an overall unity in the library space. In the corner of the building on the second floor, a news café is housed above the entrance. Here, hundreds of magazines and newspapers are on offer, as well as a circular bar with monitors presenting the latest news. Above the news café on the fourth floor, a game and multimedia department hosts a similar circular shape, where monitors present the games live. These screens are visible from the adjacent city square, making for a dynamic exterior frontage. “It’s the introduction of a retail concept in a public library,” Van Lieshout says. “In a meandering landscape of books, the shopper can wander through, explore the different worlds and discover places to sit back and browse through the books.” W | Photos: Wim Ruigrok August 2010 www.ddionline.com http://www.ddionline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of DDi - August 2010

Display & Design Ideas - August 2010
From the Editor
Newsworthy
Shopper Insights
Greentailing
Editor’s Choice
Design Snapshot
Department Store Focus
Contents
Anthropologie
Store Windows Showcase
Right Light
In-Store Technology
Product Spotlight
Advertisers
Calendar
Classifieds
Shopping with Paco

DDi - August 2010