Rome Colosseum bookshop design is based on a light, modular system

A new Electa bookstore at Rome's Colosseum is among the latest projects of Milan-based Migliore+Servetto. The design duo were tasked with creating a unifying language for the Italian publishing house’s stores, which is debuting at four locations in Rome as well as at a Venice outpost, in the spaces of the Biennale. 

Colosseum bookstores by Migliore+Servetto

The new bookshop concept for Electa took over four spaces of the Colosseum archaeological park: Colosseum First Gallery, Second Gallery, San Gregorio al Palatino and Clivo Palatino. While each space has a distinct identity, Migliore+Servetto's intervention features a unifying language comprising a light furniture system that brings simplicity and modularity to the displays. 

The design of the spaces adapts to the original architecture, with curved layouts following the Colosseum's structure and windows framing the ancient ruins. The system can be adapted to each space and responds to every display need. 

The design is defined by perforated metal sheets in bold colours, used for different functions. The concept follows five main elements, including wall displays and wall focus elements to spotlight specific products; double-sided central elements that divide and define the spaces and flow; thematic islands; and elements dedicated to tills and customer service functions.  

Each store is characterised by a specific colour, adding a sense of uniqueness to the different locations: sulphurous yellow for Colosseum First Gallery, scarlet red for Colosseum Second Gallery, green celadon for San Gregorio al Palatino, and yellow cadmium for Clivo Palatino.

The studio worked with Rimini-based art director Leonardo Sonnoli on bespoke graphics that nod to the site's history with a contemporary graphic approach.

'Beyond its function as a sales space, the bookshop thus becomes a narrative landscape,' reads a note from the designers. 'It's a place of discovery… stimulating cultural growth, through a valorisation of the wise offer of contents and a constant dialogue with the extraordinary architectural context that contains them.'

Electa bookshops at the Colosseum and Archaeological Area
Piazza del Colosseo
Rome

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