Locus: Identified by the History (2016)

Locus: Identified by the History (2016)
Lu Jingren and Fang Xiaofeng
Softcover, sewn, open spine. H170 x W170 x D45 mm. 566 pages. Acquired from Liu Xing Bookseller, 9 May 2026.
Photos: Books On Books Collection.

历史的”场 (Locus: Identified by the History) (2016)
方晓风 (Fang Xiaofeng) and 呂敬人 (Lu Jingren)
Beijing Shi: Zhongguo jian zhu gong ye chu ban she.

Co-authored by architecture scholar Fang Xiaofeng and book designer Lu Jingren, Locus: Identified by the History (2016) springs from the Book – Architecture Project (书 – 筑 / Shu – Zhu Project), conceived by Lu Jingren, Fumihiko Maki (Japan), and Yi Ki-Ung (South Korea). The project initiated a multi-year series of exhibitions/forums called “Book – Architecture: Dialogues Between Architects and Book Designers” (2011-19) across all three countries. Locus was published on the occasion of the second exhibition/forum in 2016.

Locus pursues two overlapping lines of thought. The first and primary one rests on Lu’s design philosophy that a book is a built environment, a habitat for text and images to be engaged by readers and all five of their senses. Its layout, pacing, structure, and their interconnectedness with each other and the book’s materials mirror the architect’s design of rooms, hallways, stairs, windows, doors, thresholds, and their interconnectedness with each other and their materials. Likewise as habitats, they each have exteriors, are designed to occupy a locus in time and space, and relate to a world outside. In Lu’s philosophy, the design mechanics involve four pillars: binding + layout + editorial + information visualization. Successful execution results in an immersive spatial object (habitat) that triggers the reader’s visual, tactile, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory systems simultaneously.

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