It is not often that religion and modernity go hand in hand. Most often they are perceived as conflicting ends with the liberal accusing the church of trying to keep the world in ignorance so as to keep its position strong. The world has, over centuries, seen a constant fight between scientific progress and religious practice. But here is a perfect example of how they can go hand in hand; how the pious can store and present an opportunity for the modern to sustain and spread.
Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands is a Selexyz bookstore that has won the Lensvelt de Architect Interior Prize 2007 for not only its unique design but also its thought of integrating the Medieval with the modern. The book store is actually present in an 800-year old Dominican church and is said to have the largest stock of books in the city. The bookstore converted just 750 m2 of space available for commercial purpose in to a huge shop, with both creativity and great designing. The makers have constructed a multi-storey steel structure along the walls of the church which takes advantage of the awesome height of the church.The church being a construction of medieval Europe offers great height to work with and the makers of the design have used that to the fullest. They have made the huge steel structures in such a way that they stand completely detached from the church, so as to not alter the actual structure. The steel structures have elevators for customers to use and the also have walking space. The books are placed in a structured way so as to minimize wastage of time in searching for the hottest selling books.
