The idea of our Nomadic Bookstore is simple: We pack up our favorite books and take them to interesting places all over the globe. That way, book lovers around the world get the chance to see, touch and leaf through our books and thereby experience their physicality.
Spring is here and we're ready for the next adventure: Architecture students of the Museum Lab Diploma 15 of the AA School of Architecture in London proposed to design a temporary book stand for us so we could present and sell our books during the Salone di Mobile in Milan. After a workshop with the students last year they – under the supervision of unit master Giulia Foscari, unit tutor Harikleia Karamali and external contributor Ekaterina Golovatyuk – went off to gather ideas and came up with a roofed pavilion, which they are currently setting up on Piazza San Marco in the vibrant Brera Design District in Milan.
The pavilion acts as a shelter for our books, a point of sale and also as an event location. We’ll celebrate the launch of Jasper Morrison’s latest publication The Hard Life on Tuesday, April 4th. Come and get your personal copy signed by Jasper! The next day designer Konstantin Grcic will be at the pavilion for a book signing of his publication Abbildungen/Figures. Later that night the architects from the studio SO-IL will present their upcoming book.
The pavilion was built with the support of Dott. Gallina, Pro Helvetia, Vogt Landscape Ltd, London and Granorte. Granorte, a Portuguese company known for their quality cork products, provided the roof and the floor of the pavilion. We are proud to work with such an innovative business and happy that they were ready to embark on this adventure with us. “Cork symbolically protects culture,” as the Artistic Director of Granorte, Marco Carini, says – what a nice way to put it.
As a part of Fuorisalone we will welcome visitors from April 4th to April 9th. Open daily from 10am to 10pm, on Sunday till 6pm.
Find out more about the design and building process of the pavilion on the Unit Blog of the AA School of Architecture and on their Instagram.
Download the English press release | Download the Italian press release
Contributing AA Museum Lab Students
Adrian Ma | Arslan Arkallayev | Federica Zambeletti | George Fergusson | Linus Cheng | Lloyd Lee | Ludovica Cirillo | Martina Contento | Olympia Simopoulou | Sebastian Serzysko | Tyler Camille Bollier
Design Critics and Jurors
Alex Giarlis | Andrew Usher | Anna Pla Catala | Antiopi Koronaki | Brett Steele | Chris Pierce | Didier Faustino | Federico Pompignoli | Federico Montella | Francesco Anselmo | Inigo Minns | Javier Castanon | Jose Monfa | Laura De Azcarate | Lily Jencks | Ludovico Lombardi | Michel de Costa Goncalves | Nacho Marti | Paul Cornet
We at Lars Müller Publishers believe that there is no digital replacement in sight for the book and its comforting physicality, its formal variety and the sensuality of its perception. Therefore it is essential for us to find adequate ways to display our books – besides traditional bookstores – to stay in touch with our community. The concept of our Nomadic Bookstore started out as an experiment and grew to be an exciting new opportunity for us to promote the physical book in the digital age.
Oslo, Lisbon, Munich, Copenhagen and many more destinations – we're always on the lookout for new locations to send our books to: Currently there is a Nomadic Bookstore set up as part of the Dubai Art Week. Our books are on display at Khazzan, which is not only a park, but also functions as a civic space, gallery, library and urban spot with the aim of engaging the public into a conversation on diversity and culture. In this inspiring environment, our Nomadic Bookstore invites passer-bys to explore our publications – and take their favorites home.