「緩步拾級而上，陽光斜射，迎面而至的是以閱讀為名被時間遺忘的山城小鎮。熙來人往的遊客,漫步在大大小小的廣場之間，或在樹下享受獨處的片刻或熱絡好奇參與眼前熱閙的活動表演。圍繞廣場街道的是悠閒愜意的老咖啡廳與一幢幢神祕等待探索的獨立小書店，每一幢建築都深具特色，每一個廣場都上演著不同的戲碼，錯落散佈在不被預期的角落,等待發現。」

 

 

 

MLD Reading

位於高雄，由製鋁廠房重新改造的台鋁商場，MLD Reading書店便在其中，是商場整體生活提案的一環。坐落2F的書店，透過寬闊漆黑的階梯銜接1F的市集廣場，提供一個由動轉靜的過渡場域，與外頭的紛擾對照,書店更顯世外桃園的姿態。

以閱讀為主題的人文小鎮

在設計概念上，MLD Reading捨棄風格一致一間大書店傳統設計方式，改以創造一個以”閱讀”為主題的山城小鎮，藉由活動豐富的廣場街道連接許多深具特色的獨立小書店.每個主題書屋都有獨特的建築形象與內部風格，形形色色的空間因此誕生，將逛書店轉化為一個小鎮的探索，豐富了整體空間的體驗層次。走進MLD Reading，就走進了一個擁有許多獨立書店的人文小鎮，您不時地走走停停，探詢著每個角落的驚奇。如果走累了，就找一個喜歡的角落，靜靜地坐下吧。

乘著無限的想像踏出下一步，站在巨的人肩膀上前行。

多樣化的小鎮書屋，啟發了無限的想像力：當來到旅行館，您可以見到漂浮在空中諾大的古地球與帆船，呼喚著夢想中的冒險旅程；兒童館，有著童話般的樹形書櫃，還有色彩豐富的熱氣球，在親子陪讀座位上方緩緩升起；史哲館，有著一個偌大的時間之門與哲文肖像，好似入門便會沉入時空回到過去，過往文、哲巨人的智慧對談重現在你眼前。文學館則是本敞開的大書本，優美的文字從書中漂浮了出來，散播到空氣之中對你說話。

Ascending the stairs amidst the gentle sunlight, one is confronted by a time-forgotten small town in the mountain. Streaming with visitors, they stroll along the piazzas, or enjoying a moment of solitary under a tree, or enthusiastically involved with some performances in a impromptu manner. Lining along the streets are old-time cafes and blocks of seemingly mysterious independent bookshops, each one unique, and every piazza a different performance is played, scattered at unexpected corners of the town, waiting to b discovered.

MLD Reading

Located in Kaohsiung, MLD Reading is housed in what previously an old factory was involving in the production of aluminum. This is a case of adaptive reused and the bookshop is part of the overall development that is trying to inject life into an otherwise abandoned site for the last few decades. Housed on the 2nd level, it is connected to the market square below via a grand, dark staircase, providing the necessary transition space from somewhere boisterous to the more subdue environment of a bookshop. Such contrast makes the bookshop a sanctuary by comparison.

A humanity town with ”Reading” as a theme

When conceptualizing the bookshop, the traditional way of designing with a banal stylistic language was abandoned. Instead, a mountain village with “reading” as the central theme was adopted. As such, these uniquely independent small bookshops are interconnected through various activities happening along the streets or the piazzas. Each & every bookshop possessed its own unique architectural and interior language, hence the creation of various space with unique features. For such reason, a stroll in the bookshop is transformed into an exploration of a town, and in the process enriches one’s own senses when experiencing different layers of the space. Walking into MLD Reading is akin to stepping into a humanity town with lots of independent bookshops. Strolling & stopping, and strolling again, there are various unexpected corners waiting to be discovered. And when one is tired, find a favourite corner and have a moment of quietness.

Riding on the wave of infinite imagination and taking the next step, standing on the shoulder of giants and move forward.

The diversity of small town bookshops inspire boundless imagination: when inside the House of Travelling, one can see the gigantic floating ancient globe and a yatch, calling out ones long-hidden dream of an adventurous journey; in the House of Children, they are bookshelves shaped like a fairytale trees, and colourful hot balloons rising gradually at the kid’s reading corner; in the House of History & Philosophy, there stands a giant Gate of Time and portraits of philosophers, implying a moment of travelling back in time when crossing the gate, having a stimulating intellectual discourse with titans of the past. The House of Literature is represented by a giant open book, allowing those elegantly written phrases to float in the air and converse with you.