Burr is every bit as smart as Hamilton, and every bit as gifted, and he comes from the same amount of loss as Hamilton. But because of the way they are wired, Burr hangs back where Hamilton charges forward. I feel like I have been Burr in my life as many times as I have been Hamilton. I think we’ve all had moments where we’ve seen friends and colleagues zoom past us, either to success, or to marriage, or to homeownership, while we lingered where we were—broke, single, jobless. And you tell yourself, ‘Wait for it.’ —Lin-Manuel Miranda
The design by XL-Museof Hangzhou Zhongshuge uses optical illusions to create a neverending bookstore that seems to extend in all directions, in order to satisfy the goal established by the client of creating the most beautiful bookstore in the world.
From the architect:
Looking through the glass curtain, a pure white space consisting of circular bookshelf pillars escape the shackles of the surrounding environment. These white pillars carrying books rise up straight to the sky. Under the reflection of ceiling mirror, they seem to have a conversation beyond time. Additionally, the wall mirror doubles the transverse dimension to enable the whole book spaces to seem unbounded as the real nature.
Walking on the central axis of the forest zone and walking through a doorway as guided by the lights to the border of light and shade, we transit from the lightness to the profound main hall of Zhongshuge – an oncoming quiet reading corridor. Here, the entire bookshelf extends endlessly to the side. The darker and lighter-colored shelves are orderly advanced or retreated, as changing mountains or unattainable ladders or fortitude upright spines to silently convey the power of knowledge to us. The chandeliers floating in the ceiling mirror softens the entire space like a firefly. People under the lights, recollect the aromatic coffee or mediate in the world of books. Cross the corridor is the stair reading area. The circular skylight pours down from the ceiling mirror, and the encircling bookshelves look like the swirling lamp belt.
In the Hangzhou Zhongshuge, there is also a children pavilion, which is a book playground. The designer arts bookshelves as playground facilities including merry-go-round, roller coaster, hot air balloons and pirate ships to give children a happy reading experience as if playing in the playground, while the floor of galaxy maps not only inspires the imagination of children and also interestingly educate them the knowledge of galaxy.
