In today's urban development, the renovation and reuse of old buildings is not only related to the continuation of culture, but also closely connected with contemporary functional needs. “Yizhui Bookstore” in Kangyuan is a typical example.

Its innovation and integration in the transformation process are undoubtedly highlights worth thinking about and discussing.

Kangyuan is located in Danzao Town, Foshan City, where there is a building called "Yizhui Bookstore". This building was originally part of Kang Yuan and its original function was as an entrance and visitor reception center.

The positioning of the bookstore makes it inherently public and establishes a unique interdependence with the surrounding environment.

Now people are no longer satisfied with its mere existence as a basic role, influenced by community development needs and cultural promotion. They expect it to become more active, become a new cultural symbol, and have more comprehensive functions to affect surrounding communities.

In many cities, many originally dedicated buildings have been transformed into multi-functional cultural venues, a phenomenon that often promotes a significant enhancement of the cultural atmosphere in the area.

Local residents have high expectations for the bookstore, hoping that it will provide more diverse cultural services and experiences so that people of all ages can benefit from it.

This change not only means the expansion of functions, but also involves the in-depth exploration and continuation of local culture.

Kangyuan has a profound cultural and historical heritage, so the bookstore connected to it should also shoulder the important task of cultural inheritance and promotion.

The original building is an antique design with a symmetrical layout and a patio in the middle.

Here, the specially designed window grilles and door panels make the interior space look a bit messy, giving people a sense of closure and isolation.

This is an issue that needs to be resolved urgently before renovation.

The owners wanted to reduce costs by reducing extensive demolition and reconstruction, while also ensuring that the architectural style was in harmony with the surrounding environment.

It's like doing renovation work under the spell of many constraints.

In the actual renovation process, traditional buildings in many places will encounter a problem when updating, that is, how to modernize and adapt to the requirements of the new era while maintaining the original style and structure.

This requires finding a delicate balance between tradition and modernity.

In order to eliminate the closed feeling of the original building and enhance the clarity of spatial vision, the design team specially developed a set of calculation solutions for spatial visual fluidity.

Compare and select solutions by quantifying the benefits of demolishing walls and windows.

In specific operations, they must accurately calculate the ratio of demolished parts to retained parts.

After some trial and error, we finally settled on taking down the walls in certain areas. This decision is based on data calculations and also takes into account factors such as the surrounding environment and the flow of people.

Through minimal demolition, the overall sense and spaciousness of the space have been successfully improved. The reading room makes people feel like they are in a broad cultural space, where people can experience pleasure when reading, relaxing, and walking around.

The bookstore is named after Mr. Kang Youwei who read "a cone of books" every day.

The space design in the bookstore echoes the concept of "Chinese style and Western style" advocated by Mr. Kang.

The core facility of the bookstore, the bookcase, draws on the domino system advocated by Le Corbusier and is designed using the language of modern architecture.

This reflects the design thinking that integrates ancient and modern times.

The placement, design style and color matching of the bookcases not only show traces of classical style, but also incorporate the simplicity and liveliness of modern style.

This integration is not a simple combination, but goes deep into the level of spatial function and cultural expression.

Observing many successful architectural renovation cases at home and abroad, we can find that only by skillfully combining traditional elements with modern architectural language can we create a space that is both unique and rich in connotation.

When dealing with the connection between the original antique building and the newly introduced Western architectural language, the designer did not deliberately seek the unity of style. Instead, he cleverly retained the characteristics of the original building and designed it through juxtaposition and grafting techniques.

It retains the antique atmosphere of the ancient building, and also incorporates the leisure atmosphere and cultural features required by modern composite public spaces.

In the decoration or space division of some corners, we can observe the unique texture and structure of ancient buildings, and at the same time, we can also appreciate the novel and comfortable experience brought by modern design.

In the practice of many traditional building renovations in China, this shows an excellent example. It tells us that old and new styles are not incompatible, but can live in harmony.

"Yizhui Bookstore" has now become a unique existence in Kangyuan.

From a micro level, it creates a pleasant reading and resting place for local residents and tourists. Here, people can read books and enjoy the peaceful time.

From a macro level of cultural communication, it has become an important cultural business card of Danzao Town, Foshan. From the perspective of city image creation, it also plays a key role as a cultural symbol.

Every year, many tourists come from all over the world to visit and experience it, which plays a very important role in promoting Kang Youwei's ideas and showing local cultural characteristics.

It also plays a positive role in promoting surrounding businesses and community cohesion.

Corresponding commercial facilities will be added around the bookstore, such as unique cafes and shops selling cultural souvenirs, thus forming a complete cultural and commercial district.

So have you ever been to a place full of cultural fusion like this?