Just a stone's throw away from the Piazza Della Signoria and the Uffizzi Gallery, and hidden among the many courtyards of the city of Florence's historic center, the Brac Bookstore is renovated by Deferrari + Modesti, led by architects Javier Deferrari and Lavinia Modesti. They expanded the original core of the 'bookstore with a kitchen,' which they had originally worked on in 2009, and again in 2016. Armed with good doses of courage, hope and optimism, Sacha Sandri Olmo (a cook specializing in vegetarian and vegan cuisine) andMelisa Di Nardo (a bibliophile and librarian) embarked on the idea of a renovation and expansion with their initial thoughts taking shape during the quieting down of the city center in the thick of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Now, the Brac Bookstore is renewed as a cozy, untold place of enchantment, a refuge for many who seek the company of books, desiring to get lost in the worlds that are hidden in volumes dedicated to photography, film, art, architecture, design, graphic novels and illustration. Within its shelves are a good amount of representation by established publishers and small, boutique ones as well.

This latest recent interventionreuses and renovates thepremises adjacent to theexisting bookstore, defined bylarge rooms with arches andbarrel-vaulted ceilings andtraditional Tuscan finishes, suchas brick vaults and terracottafloors. It is an interior spacebelonging to the historical fabricof the city of Florence, organizedinto three major rooms. Each of these possesses differentsizes, shapes and heights, whichbecome references for thenew system of furniture andscenography. The project buildsprecisely on the constraints ofthe space and then turns theminto assets, working on specificset-ups and using a variety ofdevices and configurations.The sequence of the three mainrooms is thus reorganized andrethought as part of one largeinterior, punctuated by roomseach characterized by a specificatmosphere.

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Each room is occupiedby a variety of furnitureelements, custom designedby the architects, withdifferent finishes, volumesand geometries. In fact, theproject exploits the capacityfor furniture to act as a spatialdevice, a tool for orienting theactions of the public and therhythms of the their activities.The architects’ interventionis based on the desire torecompose the interior spaceand then break it down intoa variety of functions andrelationships. Thus, the furnitureperforms different tasks: worksurface, book display, seat,container, scenography, filter.

Libreria Brac Renovation By Deferrari + Modesti: Anna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi | Studio Campo

Libreria Brac Renovation By Deferrari + Modesti - vinyl carpets | brand: Bolon; chairs | brand: Connubia, model: Tuka and Cozy; tall and low tables | custom designed by DEFERRARI+MODESTI; wall bookcases | custom designed by DEFERRARI+MODESTI; bar counter | custom designed by DEFERRARI+MODESTI; floor lamp | brand: Kartell, model: GEEN-A; pendant lamp | brand: Flos, model: Overlap Anna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi | Studio Campo.

Libreria Brac Renovation By Deferrari + ModestiAnna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi | Studio Campo.

Libreria Brac Renovation By Deferrari + ModestiAnna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi | Studio Campo.

Libreria Brac Renovation By Deferrari + ModestiAnna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi | Studio Campo.

Libreria Brac Renovation By Deferrari + ModestiAnna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi | Studio Campo.

Libreria Brac Renovation By Deferrari + Modesti - vinyl carpets | brand: Bolon; terracotta coffee table | brand: Broste Copenhagen, model: Podium Rillo; chairs | brand: Connubia, model: Cozybrand: Connubia, model: Tukabrand: Connubia, model: Sixty; tables | custom designed by DEFERRARI+MODESTI;pendant lamp | brand: Flos, model: OverlapDEFERRARI+MODESTI, Brac bookstore in Florence, Italy. Photo: Anna Positano, Gaia Cambiaggi | Studio Campo.

Libreria Brac Renovation By Deferrari + Modesti

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The color palette, alreadypresent in the first project forBrac, is revived and enhancedwith bright color accents. Newmaterials are added with thenew intervention; from naturalmultilayer wood to paintedpanels, from lanolin-paintedboards to painted OSB (oriented strand board) surfaces.The project also uses wood ascladding for the volumes thatconceal service spaces. Thesebecome elements to emphasizethe proportions and heights ofthe rooms, as in the case of thelight wood volume behind thebar counter, which takes thegreatest height of the space.

The sequence of rooms isdelineated and punctuated bycarpets, which in their shapesseek both to connect thevarious spaces and to highlightdifferences between areas.The carpets all have the sametexture, but come in differentshades; they are made of PVC,easily washable, yet theirtexture conveys a cozy feeling.Various lounges are distributedin the rooms, with differenttypes of seating, for reading a book, conversing or simplyhanging out.

The new intervention alsohad to deal with the scarcityof natural light, which filtersinto the space through the only street facing window andthe two apertures to the innercourtyard. As a result, the newrooms are illuminated throughunobtrusive technical fixturesand more decorative lighting,warm and punctual, insertedinto the various reading andseating areas. The two pendantlamps are iconic objects, whichcharacterize the counter areaand the communal study area.

The entire lighting systemgives the rooms a cozy andinformal atmosphere with acontemporary feel. The projectplaces the public at its centerthrough the warm and opendimension of the new interiors,where time seems to dilateand reading, fine dining andcontemporary arts find space.

Brac Bookstore is a 3-minute walk away from Museo Galileo. Visit Libreria Brac at Via dei Vagellai, 18/R, 50122 Firenze FI, Italy, or at https://www.libreriabrac.net/.