Interior design practice Masquespacio has designed a colourful space based on time travel for Rubio, one of Spain’s biggest scholastic children’s publishers.

Located in Valencia, the playful concept store is the first physical presence for the publisher and aims to appeal to older generations that have grown up with it and also engage a younger audience through digital technologies.

Architect’s statement

Starting with the spacious entrance, framed by bright yellow and blue neon signs, visitors are guided by a large counter towards the area of mathematics, writing and reading workbooks, close to the workshop training area.

Further, into the shop, we arrive at the so-called ‘tunnel of colour’, where a time machine guides visitors through the Rubio universe. From here, the more adventurous sorts can go on to the projection room.

It’s a place full of surprises for the younger visitors. Each of the publisher’s collections has its own corner, where the store aims to encourage interaction with the public at all times and has endeavoured to create the best possible display of their products.

The back of the rotating shelves in the mathematics area are used as blackboards to practice mathematical concepts. Another area nearby has a methacrylate board that visitors can use to improve their handwriting.

There are numerous spaces and activities to discover in this new Rubio space for both children and adults, including the curious peep-hole in the shop window, a time machine with augmented reality goggles, a roulette that explains the publisher’s history, a speaker that tells tales, the tunnel of color and the projection room.

This makes the store interactive for visitors both in the traditional way as they read the material, perform mathematics operations and look through the peep-hole, and also making the most of the digital era through the use of tablets and 3D goggles.

“We have endeavoured to make sure that our audience, the audience for our workbooks and books, whether children or adults who have grown up with Rubio, can enjoy it with us. We have sought to explain how we are a dynamic publisher open to the future and in constant evolution, but always remembering where we came from,” explains Enrique Rubio, CEO of the publisher, who adds, “In the end, our store tells our history, the life we lived and where we will continue to live. That is how we leap into the future.”

Photography by Luis Beltrán