The SCS Team: Students: Elvira Fernandez Mateos, Mengxue Gu, Kristine Heimdal, Ane Marie Jakobsen, Karoliina Mäenpää, Kim Alena Neubüser, Anne Ringstad, Tarjei Svalastog, Nuria Tarres Rosello, Martin Tosterud, Sigrid Thunberg, Johanne Hoffmann. Staff: Christian Hermansen Cordua, Solveig Sandness, & Jan Kazimierz Godzimirski We are extremely greatful to our sponsors, withough whose help these projects would not be possible:

The Louna Architects’ Bookshop for Louna International Architect’s Village After   decades   of   concentrating   resources   on   urban   industrial   development,   China   has   turned   its   attention   to   its   rural   areas   where   it   is   sponsoring   a variety   of   development   initiatives.   One   of   these   is   the   Louna   International   Architects’   Village   initiated   by   Urban   Environment   Design   (UED)   Magazine and   CBC   (China   Building   Centre),   which   occupies   a   small,   beautiful   valley   called   Louna,   in   Yilong   District,   Qianxinan   Buyei   and   Miao   Autonomous Prefecture,   Guizhou   Province.Louna   International   Architects’   Village   is   viewed   as   a   “Peach   Colony”,   a   Chinese   reference   to   an   idyllic   dream.   In pursuance   of   the   policy   of   “rural   revival”   “and   “beautiful   countryside”,   this   Village   gathers   renowned   architects,   artists,   scholars   and   cultural   workers from   home   and   abroad,   such   as   Ryue   Nishizawa,   Seung,H-sang,   and   Xinggang   Li.   UED   and   CBC   invited   The   Scarcity   and   Creativity   Studio,   AHO,   to design   the   village’s   bookshop.   Architectural   education   is   a   significant   component   of   rural   revitalization   and   Louna   International   Architects’   Village   is committed to become a research and education center focused on future rural revival.

The Louna Architects’ Bookshop Since   the   advent   of   digitisation,   printed   books   are   going   through   difficult   times.   The   consolidation   of   publishers   and   the   demise   of   long   established booksellers   are   the   most   visible   signs   of   the   challenges   that   the   book   industry   faces.Spurred   by   these   challenges,   enterprises   that   deal   with   printed matter   are   trying   to   respond.   Web-based   book   purchases   have   now   taken   a   sizeable   percentage   of   the   market,   while   traditional   bookshops   try   to re-think   the   spaces   in   which   clients   purchase   books.   One   direction   taken,   akin   to   the   transformation   of   airports   into   shopping   malls,   is   converting bookshops   into   cafe/restaurants   with   access   to   books.When   SCS   discussed   these   trends,   it   decided   not   to   dilute   the   relation   of   people   and   books   by introducing   other   activities.   To   highlight   this   decision   the   Louna   Architects’   Bookshop   is   conceived   as   a   small   part   of   a   large   National   or   University library,   where   you   walk   through   endless   narrow   aisles   bounded   on   two   sides   by   floor   to   ceiling   bookshelves.   The   natural   light   of   this   long   and narrow   space   comes   from   a   very   high   east-facing   window,   which   does   not   permit   exterior   views.   The   only   concession   to   comfort   is   the   provision   of two   niches   where   customers   can   sit   to   peruse   books   for   longer   times.   Blessed   with   a   stable   and   temperate   semi-tropical   climate,   the   landscape around   the   bookshop   was   conceived   as   a   place   where   you   could   read   books   and   magazines   outdoors.The   building   is   composed   of   two   parts;   the main   tall   space   containing   the   books   is   the   space   that   clients   will   experience.   The   lower   concrete   block   part   contains   the   servicing   spaces,   an   office, sales   counter,   storages,   and   a   toilet.   To   highlight   the   difference   between   these   two   parts,   we   chose   to   build   each   in   different   materials.   The   book- space    is    timber;    black,    treated    softwood    on    the    outside,    and    light    coloured    maple    cladding    on    the    inside.    In    recent    times    in    China,    rapid urbanisation,   increases   in   population,   and   decreases   in   available   forests   has   resulted   in   the   reduction   of   the   use   of   timber   as   a   building   material.   In contrast,   timber   remains   the   main   building   material   of   suburban   and   rural   Norway;   a   material   that   SCS   is   familiar   with.   To   distinguish   the   book space   from   the   servicing   volume,   we   decided   to   use   concrete   blocks   for   the   latter.   As   China   is   the   largest   producer   of   cement   in   the   world,   concrete blocks are the ubiquitous building material, both in cities and rural areas