What Carturesti Carusel is known for
Cărturești Carusel is the bookshop that opened in February 2015 at 55 Lipscani Street in Bucharest's Old Town. Square One's interior introduced mezzanine balconies beneath a central skylight after the building's restoration. Its bookselling spaces occupy a building with earlier banking and retail uses, distinct from the history of the wider Cărturești chain.
Cărturești Carusel opened on 12 February 2015 at 55 Lipscani Street in Bucharest's Old Town. The building had belonged to the Chrissoveloni family and underwent restoration before its conversion into a bookshop. Its earlier banking and retail uses are part of the building's history, not the founding story of the Cărturești chain.
Square One designed the bookshop interior following the restoration work. Mezzanine balconies reduced the reach required for the tall shelving and created six levels, including the basement. White balustrades, older decorative columns and daylight from the central skylight give the reading and browsing areas their shared setting.
Interior Design's 2016 account described books, music and film sections, a top-floor café and space for cultural events. Those opening-era details explain how the store was conceived without fixing today's stock count or programme. The main reason to visit remains the combination of browsing books and moving through the adapted building. Allow time for the levels rather than treating the entrance as the whole shop.
In the press
- Interior Design 2016
Best for — Books and the restored architecture of a Bucharest bookshop
Where next
- LockCha Tea House — Hong Kong
- Illuseum — Riga
- HAGISO — Tokyo
Hand-curated for ORBIS · no paid placement