Libreria Bookshop
Libreria Bookshop is an independent bookstore, in the Spitalfields area of London, England, run by the London-based co-working space Second Home.
History
Located on 65 Hanbury Street, the bookstore opened in February 25, 2016 as a project by Rohan Silva and Sam Aldenton of Second Home, with former Financial Times editor Sally Davies serving as its director.Libreria's selection is organized not by genre and alphabet, like other bookstores, but rather by "suggestive themes designed to provoke browsers into making unexpected connections" in order to provide a sense of curation and discovery. Guest curators, like Jeanette Winterson, Shami Chakrabarti, and Richard Wentworth, among many others, have helped arrange some of the bookstore's shelves.
Design
Designed by José Selgas and Lucía Cano of SelgasCano, the bookstore's architecture, with "Mirrored walls and ceilings" and floor-to-ceiling shelves, was based on the Jorge Luis Borges story "The Library of Babel." The architects wanted to use "irregular lines and reflective surfaces" to create the feeling of a labyrinth. Its bookshelves were handmade from recycled wood by students attending the Slade School of Fine Art. The entire bookstore is 83 square meters in total.From its very beginning, the bookstore has designated itself as a digital-free zone, prohibiting customers from using their devices while inside. The New York Times stated that Librería was "Leading the rebels" with regard to such a policy soon taking hold in other London bookstores. BBC called it a "sanctuary from the bombardment of the modern digital world" without veering too far into "old-school" or "Luddite" territory.
In addition to selling books, the bookstore also hosts a printing press in its basement, provides a bar, and also opens itself up as a rentable venue for private events like screenings, dinners, workshops, and launches.