Isay Weinfeld

The projects for Livraria da Vila bookstores, in the city of São Paulo, have been developed from a core idea that helped define the character of the brand and of the commercial venue, as well as a working method: while developing a range of strong identity elements, we strived to tackle the particular challenges in each new project – mostly related to its location – and create something fresh from a established concept.
The strongest identity element in Livraria da Vila bookstores was developed from the book, the smallest unit in the store – and that is the shelf or, better yet, the extensive shelving covering walls, dividing spaces and even becoming pivoting window displays and entry doors to the stores. Dark-wood shelves embrace and invite the reader to explore the venue, in the fashion and mood of old libraries and second-hand book shops.
The target of the project is the customer-reader, that someone who at times is after something specific, at others gazes slowly, browsing the shelves in search of old emotions or new horizons. In addition to a well organized jumble of books of all genres, customers may also enjoy appropriate lighting and easy chairs, sofas and seats scattered around the various areas, as to allow them to check out their choices and findings leisurely.
The venues where the different bookstores are located, all large, are also designed as to provide a feeling of quasi-privacy, achieved through the distribution of the shelves, the creation of mezzanines, the lowered ceilings or the definition of smaller recesses connected to the main area. The exception is the children’s books section, where the shelving units are white and the spaces light and airy, to receive the colors of the publications and the joy of the little users.
The Livraria da Vila store located at Pátio Higienópolis Mall is the third project we developed for the chain, and the second inside a shopping mall, with its own rules and limitation for the set-up of the stores.
The one-story 760 m² space was organized from the creation of a small entrance hall, intended to magazines and paper supplies, followed by a large round atrium giving access – through different height, different width passages – to four specialized rooms, an auditorium and a café, all independent venues one from the other, but organized as satellites of the large central space.

Text by Cecília Rodrigues dos Santos