Din Associates creates a white room in Selfridges

Din Associates is redesigning the bookshop in London department store Selfridges, with the area scheduled to reopen next month. A scheme to add an additional 50 per cent of floor space sees the facility bidding to become the largest department store bookshop in London.

The department will feature an all-white colour palette, including an individual lounge area – called the White Room – where customers can browse through a wide selection of books while enjoying the comfort of furniture from Jasper Morrison, Marc Newson, Arne Jacobsen and Verner Panton. There will also be a large glass display wall showing one-off creations from the Society of Designer Bookbinders and limited edition artists’ books.

Din Associates managing director Rasshied Din says the theme is “a reaction against traditional bookstores and libraries. The idea is to lighten the whole thing, making it fresh and light, in keeping with Selfridges’ design values in the rest of the store, but making it clear that it’s a bookstore.”

Meanwhile, furniture manufacturer and retailer SCP is extending its concession within Selfridges, with the opening of a new lighting department on the fourth floor. Designed by architect Munkenbeck and Marshall, the 118m² venue will stock a range of products from leading designers including Le Klint, Ingo Maurer, Pallucco Italia, Jasper Morrison and Achille Castiglioni.