Library is where Lampoon documents and reviews the cultural and creative landscape.
From bookstores to hotels, perfumes to museums, and artistic spaces, each review observes what works and what doesn’t. The focus is on experience and context:
how places, objects, and projects function, how they shape ideas and environments. Lampoon Library isn’t a guide or a catalog — it’s a tool to explore culture critically.
Readers follow the magazine’s investigations, discovering spaces and products through sharp, direct observations.
The Library collects reviews that map the intersection of creativity, design, and everyday life, showing how culture is lived and produced, without gloss or exaggeration.
Library
Edicola 518, Perugia. From the ashes of an abandoned kiosk
An unused kiosk rises to a life between art space and bookstore. Four square meters and an argument about independent publishing
Le Cornichon: A Contemporary Palimpsest of Parisian Café Culture
How a Paris café in the 11th arrondissement channels 1970s French design to restore the spirit of neighborhood hospitality
Avril 50, Philadelphia. A time capsule of 1984 with magazines and journals
Established while he was completing his second master’s degree, Shahidi founded Avril 50 as a response to the lack of stores carrying magazine publications and academic journals that catered to...
Soho News International, New York. Three-thousand magazines on Prince Street
Magazines span in volumes at Soho News International – showcasing a diverse set of titles in genres. Esoteric and well-known, catering to the wider sense of audience in the New...
Areadocks, Brescia – a chamber of wonders: design, art, food, hospitality and more
In Brescia, Italy's Capital of Culture 2023, Alberto Marengoni has made a multifunctional space possible that has been a hub of entertainment and hospitality since 1995. Latest openings: a boutique...
Between Roses and Stone: Alila Jabal Akhdar, Oman’s Green Mountain Retreat
Perched two thousand meters above the Omani desert, Alila Jabal Akhdar is built from local stone, powered by sun and wind, and scented by the region’s wild roses
Forestis and the architecture of reduction in the Dolomites
From untreated larch wood to biomass heating, every design choice at Forestis is shaped by the goal of minimizing impact — an interview with Teresa Unterthiner, general manager and owner...
OWSpace, China. A space designed on the concept of solitude
Boxes and corners provide a shelter for those who seek solitude and quiet with levels of interaction at OWSpace Bookstore, on the Golden Beach of Qinhuangdao
Cape of Senses rises 240 meters above Lake Garda within a 10,000-square-meter garden
Above Torri del Benaco, Hugo and Alessia Demetz have created a low, amphitheatrical structure that flows with the hill’s topography, bringing together local craftsmanship and sustainable building systems
Park Hyatt Kyoto: hillside terraces and the preserved skyline of Higashiyama
Architecture rooted in timber, stone and paper, gardens shaped with temple precision, a model of sustainable hotellerie within a UNESCO heritage site, and dining rituals framed by Yasaka Pagoda
Contraste: Matias Perdomo Creates a Theatrical Dining Narrative
When cooking is an inventive laboratory, the dining room at Contraste becomes a theatrical set—somewhere between Uruguay and Italy, within interiors reimagined by Debonademeo Studio
Livraria Mandarina, São Paulo. Where mandarins are metaphors for growth and resistance
«We compared the Livraria to a mandarin tree. As its seeds become fruits, books turn into knowledge in the process of reading.» - In conversation with Roberta Paixão and Daniela...
Ronin Milano reshaped a Milanese Liberty residence
From street-food informality to a private lounge, Ronin Milano layers gastronomy, music, karaoke and omakase across four floors, reflecting Tokyo echoes in the urban fabric of Chinatown
Bulgari Hotel Tokyo integrates sustainability in a dialogue between Rome Japan
Designed by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, Bulgari Hotel Tokyo fuses Roman geometry with Japanese rhythm, embracing a plastic-free policy and local sourcing at Il Ristorante
The Waterval brothers – three brothers behind Traders Pop
Nestled in a Maastricht, Traders Pop offers a selection of clothing, art books, and magazines that are otherwise unobtainable in regular mainstream stores
Lake Como Design Festival: waste, work, and the life of materials
The seventh edition of Lake Como Design Festival examined waste, material honesty, and circular practices, showcasing how designers rethink resources today
Belvedere and the making of cosmopolitan Mykonos
A 19th-century villa transformed into a “petite-grand hotel” where Cycladic architecture, international gastronomy, and curated sociability converge: a story within the larger story of Mykonos
Over the Rainbow: cinema, erotic photography, and poetry at Centre Pompidou
After the release of the song Over The Rainbow from Wizard of Oz, ‘a friend of Dorothy's’ became a code name to discuss homosexuality in the 70s at the Centre...
De Reyghere Boekhandel, Brugge: literature that has survived world wars
De Reyghere Boekhandel acts as an institution of change for the inhabitants of Brugge, supplying domestic and foreign literary goods – in conversation with fifth generation Thomas Barbier
Norbert Niederkofler and the short supply chain that changes the mountain
From the origins of Cook the Mountain to three destinations: Atelier Moessmer, Ansitz Heufler and AlpiNN – Norbert Niederkofler has built a model rooted in Alpine biodiversity, short supply chains,...
Printed Matter, Inc., New York. Where publishing, social activism and inclusivity take precedent
«Our guardian trajectory is to take art off the pedestal and out of the sanctity of the museum, and fold it into everyday experiences». Max Schumann, Director of Printed Matter,...
Palazzo Grassi – Punta della Dogana, Venice: a 2023 of art and events on the Grand Canal
Chronorama, a show dedicated to Twentieth century photography, and Icônes, a collective exhibition featuring works of the Pinault Collection that develop the theme of spirituality – in conversation with Mauro...
Chandal, Barcelona. A shop in El Born to explore what the world has in store
Hunting for objects that integrate functionality, beauty and responsibility in their production is what the store’s owners have been doing since 2008, allowing Chandal’s perspective to grow with them
Navigating Istanbul’s Heritage from the Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus
Located in Besiktas and overlooking the Bosphorus, the Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus represents a fusion of Istanbul's millennia-old past and contemporary design inspired by Ottoman palaces
Under the Cover, Lisbon. A magazine’s cover is a part of the selection criteria
The world of independent zines and alternative press has had a metamorphosis over the years. It started with fanzines in the Thirties
Albereta, Franciacorta: the lands of Franciacorta as the lands of Champagne
The link between a hotel and its territory: the Albereta has given Franciacorta more than Franciacorta has given Albereta, in terms of image and message
Anzenberger Gallery, Vienna. Works that experiment with media from a perspective of curation
Founded in 2002 by Regina Anzenberger, the space is a platform for photography-based art. Visitors are introduced to a concept-based body of work in the form of exhibitions and books
Boekie Woekie, Amsterdam. Three owners and 7,000 art books from independent creators
Since 1986 Jan Voss, Henriëtte van Egten and Rúna Thorkelsdóttir have persevered in maintaining the child-like essence of the bookstore while seeing through the intertwining of art related literature
Located on Stockholm’s Götgatan Street, Press Stop showcases niche publications
Looking to expand its collection of reads, Press Stop is continuing its efforts in remaining to be the last of its kind in serving recondite literary goods
Paper Café, Nairobi: a patron for arts through visuals between Africa and Europe
Michael Mugambi founded Paper Café in Nairobi in the summer of 2022 to promote the crossbreed of European independent magazines and the African cultural scene
Living Archives of Art Deco: How Two Brussels Villas Became Belgium’s Blueprint for Modernism with a Memory
From static masterpiece to adaptive monument, Villa Van Buuren and Villa Empain show how Belgian Art Deco mastered both permanence and reinvention
Solsequium, the sun’s own flower: Ffern Summer 25
A fragrance house rewriting the codes of perfumery, where scarcity is the new abundance and a summer sunset an eternal dream
Koganecho Art Book Bazaar, Japan. For the mixture of arts and functions
Thirty minutes south of Tokyo, Koganecho is part of a non-profit organization aiming to promote the arts and provide a safe space for children and adults alike
kurimanzutto: contemporary art between Mexico and NY
kurimanzutto’s first exhibition, Economía de Mercado, took place in 1999 in Mexico City and remained open to the public for less than twenty-four hours
Venice as a Site of Intent: How Three Paris-Based Galleries Are Reshaping the Contemporary Art Landscape
Rooted permanently in Venice, three Paris galleries recast the city as a dynamic hub of ongoing contemporary art dialogue.
Daria Reina has made Diana Vreeland’s diktat her own: the eye has to travel. Chez Dédé, Rome
Painting, photography and a collection of objects picked up around the world or designed by the artistic duo who launched the concept store
YME Universe, Oslo. Inside a building from 1844 described as Paris in miniature
Located between the Royal Palace and the Parliament in Karl Johans gate 39. «Oslo is segregated. It is a question if you are from the east or west side and...
Bleu&Book, Taipei. From a life in a television network to owning bookstores across Taiwan
«There are over two hundred independent-bookstores in Taiwan. To stand out, bookstores craft a thematic identity, serving a certain subject matter in a multitude of genres»
Mexico’s cherished artists: Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
Commissioned by the couple from the architect Juan O'Gorman in 1931, Diego RIvera and Frida Kahlo lived in the estate until 1934
Gaia Store, Cervia – connecting the present with the past since 2016
A new community of young people linked by the passion for fashion, interior design, and perfumes has found its temple in the philosophy of Gaia Store
Aedicola Lambrate, reclaiming Milano: a micro-publisher to help the city
Aedicola is an independent newsstand and micro-publisher fostering print culture, civic engagement, and community life in a rapidly transforming Milan
Chronicles from Reschio: 1500 Hectares of Regenerated Forest
Fifty farmhouses, a castle, an oak forest in Umbria: the Reschio Estate introduced by Benedikt Bolza and Nencia Corsini, where today over two hundred people work
Biblioteka, a public reference library, democratizes art, architecture and photography
Libraries are sustainable spaces as they discourage the mass-production of printed materials whilst encouraging the exposition of printed materials that the public doesn’t have access to
0FR Paris, emerging publications under the aegis of Alexandre Thumerelle
0FR is set up with towering piles of books in a room forming a maze-like path through stacks of print publications: a conversation with Alexandre Thumerelle on independent emerging publications
Amen, Madrid. A corner in Malasaña, the ‘barrio de las Maravillas’
A former printing house, renovated as a DIY project, named Amen – a sign of gratefulness for having gotten all the work done. Few lines by Rocío Mendivil
Vroman’s Bookstore and Book Soup intertwining to serve the California community
Two stories coming together: Vroman's Bookstore and Book Soup are held under the same management, with the common mission of being a ‘hodgepodge for diversity’
