The first interior design project form France's Normal Studio is about as far from the norm as a bookstore can get. Neon word clouds, royal blue archways, and undulating resin-finished shelves all flaunt the fact that Barnes & Noble this is not. New Delhi's Oxford Bookstore looks just like your neighborhood bookstore might, if you lived in utopian future run by design-savvy bookworms.
↑ The transitional spaces are delineated by arches kept from the structure's original form, but painted blue, which UR Design notes is "the colour of Vishnu."
↑ Cuboidal displays in the second half of the flowing main space keep with the "books as art" display aesthetic.
↑ One of the branching installations has a table for perusing books, and past it, a neon display of phrases picked out of classical Indian literature.
↑ Five blue archways lead into the cafe area, which is stocked with marble-topped, metal-based tables, with lighting provided by magnetic reflector ceiling units.
↑ A view from the front, which sports a more traditional facade.
· Oxford Bookstore in New Delhi by Normal Studio [Ur Design]
· All Retail Therapy posts [Curbed National]