A Theater Within a Bookstore: Suzhou’s Baihua Reborn
Inside the China Kunqu Opera Museum in Suzhou, a city long celebrated as the birthplace of Kunqu opera, stands the newly reimagined Baihua Bookstore. Once a modest 65-square-meter reading room dedicated to Kunqu literature, the space gradually lost its purpose over time, becoming more of a corridor than a cultural hub. Thanks to a redesign by architecture studio Tsing-Tien Making, Baihua Bookstore is now reborn as a vibrant extension of the museum’s storytelling.
A Concept Rooted in Opera Heritage
The bookstore’s transformation draws inspiration from the Tangmingdan, a portable folding façade traditionally used by opera troupes. This historical reference shaped the space into what the designers describe as a “bookstore-plus”—a micro-theater that can adapt to multiple functions. With mobile displays, magnetic fixtures, and retractable curtains, the bookstore shifts easily between reading space, cultural events, and intimate performances.
Blending Past and Present
The design approach carefully balances heritage with modern expression. The north façade of the central structure features reclaimed wooden doors from the site itself, carbonized to reveal striking textures. Carved window panels from the original bookstore were preserved and integrated as “narrative fragments,” tying the new design back to its roots.In contrast, the south façade is clad in perforated galvanized steel, its pattern abstracted from a crescent-shaped ornament traditionally worn by Kunqu actors. This juxtaposition of reclaimed wood and contemporary steel not only highlights the continuity of cultural memory but also presents a fresh visual identity for Baihua within the museum.
