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eslite Dunnan Re:Generation 1989-2020
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2020.10
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On May 31, 2020, it was lights out for the final time for the Eslite Dunnan Store (Note 1) after an illustrious 31-year career. The Dunnan store was the first Eslite store in the world and also the first one that META products have been sold at. Today, the physical store might have ceased to exist, but we can still hold the memories and value of the Dunnan store close to our hearts.
Working together, META and Eslite have preserved some materials used in the Dunnan store (Note 2), which have borne witness to the passing of time and creation of memories, and transformed them into table lamps. These lamps that can double as bookends remind one of the views from the windows of the Dunnan store. Each lamp is a symbol that the Dunnan store will keep on lighting up our lives despite its closure. These lamps act as vessels of each of our memories as they continue to journey on with us from our desks or on our shelves as we create even more memories in the future.
The design of the "eslite Dunnan Re:Generation" lamps, limited at 31 pieces, is based on the classic arched windows of the Dunnan Eslite store. Besides serving as table lamps, these products can also be used as bookends. The lamps allow users to change the temperature of their light as a mimesis of the changing skies as seen from the bookstore. The changing light brings us from day to night, and from late night to early morning, true to the spirit of the 24-hour Eslite Dunnan store. In addition to the light from the miniature arched window emitting from the front of the lamp, light also spills out from its back. This gentle luminance creates a gossamer sketch of the convergence of books and shelves, and of books and walls.
Note 1: The Eslite Dunnan store was the first Eslite bookstore. It opened in 1989 and became the world's first 24-hour bookstore in 1999. Since the birth of the Dunnan store, Eslite has, over the years, charted deeply meaningful and beautiful courses in Taiwan’s arts and culture sphere. Other than promoting reading, Eslite has also continuously put forth new ideas in the fields of arts and culture, creative ventures, and lifestyle options. Eslite has grown into an iconic enterprise in Taiwan that is highly valued by the Taiwanese society, and the Dunnan store has become one of the most quintessential bookstores of its time. Due to urban renewal plans, the Eslite Dunnan store ended its operations on 2020/5/31.
Note 2 : Five types of materials from the Dunnan store have been preserved: wooden floorboards from the walkways in the books section; marble pieces and metal plates from the desks, affectionately known as metal-wood-stone desks, in the art books section; glass screens that ran along both sides of the aisle in the book section; and screws used to secure the arched decking boards in the ceiling.
Note 2 : Five types of materials from the Dunnan store have been preserved: wooden floorboards from the walkways in the books section; marble pieces and metal plates from the desks, affectionately known as metal-wood-stone desks, in the art books section; glass screens that ran along both sides of the aisle in the book section; and screws used to secure the arched decking boards in the ceiling.
