Tuesday 29 December 2015

Bottleship

Ernest Race was invited by Jack Pritchard to redesign Egon Riss’s original Isokon Penguin Donkey and Bottleship in 1963. For his Bottleship Mark 2, Race developed a piece of similar dimensions to the Donkey but with a hinged lid under which glasses and bottles are stored creating a cross between a mini-bar and side table.
Isokonplus

Monday 21 December 2015

Cuerda


Cuerda from Emmanuel Gonzalez Guzman on Vimeo.

Un poco aludiendo a las cuerdas de un ring de boxeo y la idea de una celosia, este rack sin puertas tradicionales deja ver su interior de forma simple con la cuerda elastica de protagonista, con esto buscaba hacer algo entretenido sin mayor complicación.
Emmanuel Gonzalez

Monday 14 December 2015

Is there still any point collecting books?


"Books breathe as trees breathe. When all the books have gone our mental climate will have changed. It's a question whether we'll survive. Technology cannot replace a book. No matter that I can quickly find a digital version of a novel I'm looking for, I still fly into a rage when I discover I no longer have it, and remember who borrowed and didn't return it, five, 10, 20 years ago. For it is irreplaceable. It has my scribblings in it. The marginal expletives. The turned-down pages. The bus ticket or taxi receipt or even billet doux employed as a bookmark - not just the marginalia of an intellectual life but the detritus of the heart. And that you don't get on a Kindle, or a free e-book courtesy of Project Gutenberg. What you can't bend or throw or write on isn't, in the end, literature."
Howard Jacobson. More at BBC

Thursday 3 December 2015

Book Pedlar


A mobile bookstore on a Classic No. 33 Pashley cargo bicycle that allows for great books [have a close look at the stock...] to infiltrate the streets.
The National Design Collective

Monday 30 November 2015

Story Pod



A book exchange and an urban marker. During the day, two of the walls pivot open like the covers of a book, welcoming people inside or to gather around the front. Visitors can take or leave something to read, or lounge quietly on the built-in seating
Atelier Kastelic Buffey

Monday 16 November 2015

Link bookshelf


The Link Bookshelf unites on one side the soft and round, and on the other side, the sharp and pointy. Two poles interconnected. The shelf consists of 14 sub-elements made of laminated birch veneer individually oiled and waxed.
Dimensions: H. 29 cm. W. 27 cm. L. 239 cm.
Peter Qvist Lorentsen


Monday 2 November 2015

Book and Bed Tokyo




Book And Bed is an 'accommodation bookshop'. Shared shower, toilet and shower space are available as well as two types of bed, compact and standard. The new hostel targets overseas and out­ of­ town travelers. Day rates as well as overnight.
Book and Bed

Monday 5 October 2015

"Library" Shelfsystem


 

Ein Regalsystem,das für kleine Wohnung und das Lebensstil von junger Generation gestaltet wird."Library" ist ein Regalsystem,damit mann ganz einfach auf/abbauen und mitnehmen kann. Atelier Shan

Monday 28 September 2015

Büchertreppe



Eine begehbare Raumskulptur verbindet zwei übereinander liegende Wohnungen in Düsseldorf. Dieses multifunktionale Element besteht aus in Stufenabstand um die Treppe umlaufende Bücherregale. Sie ist Bibliothek und Treppe zugleich. Das eingefügte Möbelstück greift die Gesamthöhe beider Wohnungen auf und schafft es diese zu einem Großen und Ganzen zu vereinen.
Dreihausfrauen

Thursday 24 September 2015

E-Book Sales Slip, and Print Is Far From Dead


Now, there are signs that some e-book adopters are returning to print, or becoming hybrid readers, who juggle devices and paper. E-book sales fell by 10 percent in the first five months of this year, according to the Association of American Publishers, which collects data from nearly 1,200 publishers. Digital books accounted last year for around 20 percent of the market, roughly the same as they did a few years ago. E-books’ declining popularity may signal that publishing, while not immune to technological upheaval, will weather the tidal wave of digital technology better than other forms of media, like music and television.
Read more at The New York Times

Wednesday 23 September 2015

Nest




A shelf that from within a second shelf of the same size seemingly grows outward. Extending the shelf halfway produces a grid shelf-style layout with rows of square shelves.
Nendo

Monday 21 September 2015

Corners


Placing furniture in the corner of the room will sometimes give off a calming effect. The three-sided cube box is designed so that it can be joined in various directions, and the box can be configured to suit your preferences and needs
nendo

Tuesday 8 September 2015

Conarte Library

Conarte is the council for culture and art in the city of Monterrey, Mexico. Conarte aims to promote and stimulate artistic expression and supports the preservation and enrichment of culture. Our mission was to create a space that gives value to the experience of reading. A design-intelligent space was created for the bookshop and library granting value to the reading experience. Our design proposal focuses on creating a space that wraps the reader in. The bookshelves attend more that just their basic function and were designed to simulate a dome that plays with the visual perspective. The stands incorporate a color gradient finish that attributes depth. The illuminated half circle found in the back wall simulates the vanishing point of the structure, creating a perfect balance between color and perspective.
anagrama

Monday 7 September 2015

Little TARDIS Library

The Little TARDIS Library is on a tour of the UK sharing stories with children and young people to help promote their love of reading. Stocked with hundreds of classic books (because the Little TARDIS Library is bigger on the inside) it will be landing in schools, libraries and parks.
Little Free Library UK

Monday 24 August 2015

Paris flat


Each child has its own independent bedroom; the common living space is open and partitioned by elements of furniture which have all been designed so as to follow the sloping games of the roof-line, forming a landscape of “totems”. They include bookshelves and diverse storage spaces. 
h2oarchitectes

Monday 3 August 2015

Reading for pleasure builds empathy and improves wellbeing, new research finds


"There is strong evidence that reading for pleasure can increase empathy, improve relationships with others, reduce the symptoms of depression and the risk of dementia, and improve wellbeing throughout life, new research carried out for The Reading Agency has found.

"Among the benefits it finds are improved social capital for children, young people and the general adult population; better parent-child communication and reduction of depression and dementia symptoms among adults. Another key finding of the report is that enjoyment of reading is a prerequisite for all these positive outcomes: people who choose to read, and enjoy doing so, in their spare time are more likely to reap all of these benefits."

More at The Reading Agency

Wednesday 29 July 2015

Bookshelf giant mural

An adaptable design that can be centred on a feature wall, or cut down to fit smaller nooks and corners. This mural is applied in the same way as wallpaper and comes in easy to manage sections. This bookshelf mural comes in a choice of colour, or black and white. Murals measure 315 x 232cm, comprising of 4 separate pieces.
present indicative

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Book lockers


When Biloxi Junior High students return to school this August, they might be surprised at what they see in one of the hallways. Some teachers are spending part of their summer working on a very creative project. They are transforming some old, unused lockers into a larger than life library. 
WLox

Friday 3 July 2015

Private libraries are enjoying a renaissance


Not everyone who wants something new to read can satisfy their urge with a trip to Waterstones or a scoot around Amazon. Some want to have a copy of every book ever written on their chosen specialised subject. Others want to build a library of titles handpicked for them... In the age of e-readers and instant gratification, the writing is far from on the wall for the printed word. “If not exactly in rude health, books are… alive,” says Nicky Dunne, head of rare books at Heywood Hill.
Read more at Daily Telegraph

Thursday 11 June 2015

Extend



A bookend on which books can be placed in the air as an extension of a desk. It can be fixed to a tabletop by a clamp and the length can be adjusted as you like. It is formed by bending 2 mm steel plate in order to make it strong enough to hold books.
Material : Steel
Dimensions : H180 W300 D100 mm
Photos: Yasuko Furukawa
YoY

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Blow


A shelf that looks like a paper blowing up in the wind, formed by bending A4 size thin steel plates with molds. There are 5 types of shape and they can be used both upside and downside. It can be fixed to the wall with a hook.
Steel Dimensions : H210 W300 D20 mm
YOY

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Bin Ladin's Bookshelf


A sizeable tranche of documents recovered during the raid on the compound used to hide Usama bin Ladin. The release contains two sections. The first is a list of non-classified, English-language material found in and around the compound. The second is a selection of now-declassified documents. The Intelligence Community will be reviewing hundreds more documents in the near future for possible declassification and release. 
Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Monday 18 May 2015

Open Book


I was on BBC Radio 4's main book programme Open Book over the weekend talking with Mariella Frostrup about my latest book Improbable Libraries but also a little bit about Bookshelf the book - you can listen to it again on the BBC Sounds thingy here. As an added bonus, Julian Barnes was on just before me (I come in at around the 17 minute mark).

Monday 11 May 2015

Bookdesk


Bookdesk is a combination of desk and bookcase. Legs of the desk are steel frames with shelves on various heights. Frames are separated by steel nets. Table top is made of plywood.
Dimensions: 195cm x 70cm x 75cm
Materials: steel profiles, steel mesh, plywood
Adam Wiercinski

Thursday 2 April 2015

Lacuna


Lacuna is a monumental, participatory art installation being built for the inaugural Bay Area Book Festival to be held in downtown Berkeley, June 5-7, 2015. Constructed from 50,000 books donated by the Internet Archive, Lacuna will sit in MLK Civic Center Park for the duration of the festival weekend, creating a reflective space that offers contrast to—and respite from—the busy energy of the festival. Admission to Lacuna is 100% free, and visitors to Lacuna can take books from its walls at no cost.
Project Lacuna

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Tuesday 10 March 2015

Kosha meditative space

An innovative, original and decidedly different concept. More than a luxury piece of furniture, Kosha is a sort of protective sheath. This exceptional object consists of 33 strips of wood machined one by one then assembled by hand with a watchmaker's precision. 10 niches provide spaces to store one’s favourite books, always within easy reach. The ideal place to retire to be alone or in the company of a book.
Kosha

Friday 6 March 2015

Building with books



An excellent step-by-step description by Zoe Toft of building a den of books on World Book Day to raise money for Book Aid International (please donate via the link).
Playing by the book

Wednesday 4 March 2015

Wine barrel bookcase

Made from large retired Napa Valley wine barrels that have been carefully taken apart and fashioned into a fully functional sturdy bookcase.The deep red on the inside comes from years of exposure to quality wine. The outside of the barrel racks show visible barrel marks on the outside so you can see where the banding was and where wine was spilled during bottling.
Wine Country Craftsman

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Kosha Heritage Bookmark


The Bookshelf staff recently roadtested this lovely stainless steel 'feather' bookmark from Kosha and enjoyed the experience very much - it flattens out while inside the book, then springs gently back into feather form once released. Heartily recommended, it comes in a variety of colours.
Kosha

Tuesday 10 February 2015

Bookshelf

 
We usually tilt the last book on the shelf in order to prevent the books from falling. Likewise, a wide variety of bookends are on the market for the same purpose. 'Bookshelf' has its own radian, which can keep the books on the shelf to one side

Monday 9 February 2015

Library hotels


A hotel arranged by the Dewey Decimal System, Britain's only prime ministerial library, and a converted public library.
The Independent
(Also featured in my new book out in April, Improbable Libraries out April 6)

Monday 26 January 2015

Little Free Libraries installed at the former Athletes’ Village



Residents of East Village are now able to access free reading material, with the arrival of Little Free Libraries in the neighbourhood.  Two miniature libraries have been installed at the former Athletes’ Village that provide residents of all ages with free access to a varied selection of books. The libraries have been designed by local artists, bringing a flavour of East London artistic talent to the area.

The chosen artists, illustrator Evelyn Rowland and jewellery designer Bianca Loh are both East London residents, and were selected for both their talent and passion for the area. The arrival of Little Free Libraries at East Village is part of an ongoing commitment to bring art and culture to the neighbourhood. The libraries are the latest in a series of artistic ventures following the installation of local art in the foyers of East Village residential buildings and a competition to win an art commission with a £70,000 budget.

Thursday 22 January 2015

The Longboat Library

A fun and playful bookshelf designed to inspire children to read. The product is crafted from ash wood and hand painted in the style of a Viking longboat.
Joshua Thorpe

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Hash modular bookshelf



Make many combinations based on two modules as well as combine them under different angles (turn to 90 degrees). The shelf is made of painted steel.
Max Voytenko at Line Studio

Monday 12 January 2015

PinPres




PinPres is a kid’s room shelf that makes the act of sorting up the room a playful experience where the shelf adopts its form to the toys, books and other things that are being stored.
OOO My Design