Modern Bookstores and Libraries Around The World – Many people nowadays tend to avoid going to the library or to bookstores. However, there are still many other people that love going there and appreciate how great books are. Here’s a list of some of the most beautiful yet modern bookstores and libraries from all over the world. Enjoy!

Harbook (Hangzhou, China)

This newly-opened 600-square-meter bookstore designed by Alberto Caiola is located alongside the West Lake and is designed to appeal the young urban customer. This bookstore has also a cafe and a showroom for Scandinavian contemporary furniture brand Normann Copenhagen, in order to appeal even more people to visit this beautiful place. (Image credit to Dirk Weiblen)

Sinan Books: Shanghai Sanctum (Shanghai, China)

Chinese architecture studio Wutopia Lab has transformed Building 25 of the Sinan Mansions in Shanghai into a bookstore that takes inspiration from the human body and mind. It was mainly designed for the Shanghai Century Publishing Group and Yongye Group to be a space for learning and thinking. The bookstore also features a cafe and an area for reading modeled on an intimate Sinan living room.

Tianjin Binhai Library (Tianjin, China)

Located in the Binhai Cultural District in Tianjin and designed by the Dutch design firm MVRDV, this bookstore covers 34,000-square-meters and can hold up to 1.2 million books. It took three years to complete, but it was well worth the wait since it features a reading area on the ground floor, lounge areas in the middle sections and offices, meeting spaces, and computer and audio rooms at the top. Just don’t be fooled by the floor to ceiling shelves, since many of the books that are there are just printed images.

New Central Library (NCL) (Calgary, Canada)

With a crystalline exterior and an atrium clad in timber slats, this brand-new library that opened back in November 2018 provides a large home for the Canadian city’s literature collection and more space for diverse events that may occur. It is located in a cultural area that includes theatres, galleries, and even the National Music Centre and gives a warm aesthetic on the inside.  (Image credit to Michael Grimm)

Zhongshuge Bookstore (Hangzhou, China)

(Image Credit to Shao Feng)

Qatar National Library (Doha, Qatar)

Designed by the Dutch architecture firm OMA, this library houses several collections of Qatar’s most important texts and manuscripts on Arab-Islamic civilization. In this 138-meter-long library, there are tiers of marble bookcases set within a single open-plan space, display shelves that stretch out across terraces in every corner, and platforms just out over the archives that are sunk into the center of the structure. (Image credit to Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti)

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