Extension of Pax Bookstore

Programme: Fourth phase of work : Extension of the bookstore on the first floor of No. 4 and 6, Place Cockerill. Improved circulation and accessibility to different floors, installation of a lift.

About: From 1996 to 2012, the spatial expansion of PAX bookstore served as the clearest sign of its questioning, of its desire for openness, development and affirmation of its public image. By successively takinf over four urban buildings with their ground-floor, sometimes their basement and upper floors, as well as their retail frontages, the project gradually made it possible to resolve issues of spatiality, functionality and accessibility without affecting the atmosphere valued by its users. Over 14 years and four redevelopments,the bookstore's surface has grown from 80m2 to 670m2,spread over three floors fluently communicating with each other. The result allows users to wander through different arrangements of books and spaces: A small town within the town, with its paths, its intersections, its meeting places, the thrill of discovery, shadow and light ... From the outset, the idea was to come up with a design that would enhance the original character of the buildings, with the aim of updating them in the long-term rather than pursuing purely commercial considerations. The project demonstrates that these objectives are not incompatible.