Splash of Colors

What better way to encourage children to read than a bookstall that is delightfully cheerful?

Designed by Japanese Sako Architect, the Kid’s Republic picture bookstore in Beijing, China is ‘wrapped’ with colorful ribbons that twist and morphs. There are more than 4,000 titles in Chinese, Japanese and English, to create and cultivate the curiosity of children.

As explained on the architect’s website:
There is an activity room on the first floor and a children’s bookstore on the second floor. The activity room on the first floor is a rainbow-like space created with 12 colorful ribbons of different perimeters. Activities like story-telling and animation shows are periodically held here. The section gaps in the wall and ceiling are used for illumination or displaying items, while those in the floor are also used as a stage and an auditorium. Carpets are laid in the room for children to freely sit and lie down on the floor.

The stairs leads the children to the bookstore on the second floor. The rainbow-like ribbon starts from the hall and goes up along the stairs till the bookstore. The 100-meter-long colorful ribbon, which serves various functions at various places, whirls and twists in the store; it finally ends in the room and goes back to the armrest of the staircase baluster on the first floor where it had started.