A stunning old church now houses a bookshop in Shanghai

A fascinating new design has resulted in a very interesting bookshop in Shanghai. The bookshop is located inside a historical church in the city, the building dates back to 1932. It has been designed by Wutopia Lab, and is being called Sinan Books Poetry Store. The library is based inside the St. Nicholas Church in Shanghai, and is now the largest professional poetry bookstore. You can find books in different languages here, and as an added perk there is the magnificent design.
This former Othodox Church used to be a space for various other purposes over the past few years. It has been an office, factory, warehouse, and even private residence. It was later transformed into a club and restaurant, but now all that has changed as this classic old building is now home to a spectacular book store. Poetic indeed!


According to the designers, the existing facade, and the basic structural system of the building could not be changed, and hence they built a metal bookstore instead. The bookstore has been built apart from the old walls, so there is a gap between them. The designers were careful to retain its originality and work around it.
The design of the poetry bookshop is anything but ordinary, as you will notice the moment you walk in, it’s grand design is a thing of beauty. The neat design has been crafted with the help of 45 tons of steels, and it took 30 workers a total of 80 days to complete this. Holding thousands of books, the library is a giant sanctuary for literature, all of 9.9 m in height.