A downtown Portland landmark is finally receiving a new use: Japanese bookstore chain Kinokuniya has taken up residence in the former Guild Theatre space. The store, which opened last month at 829 S.W. Ninth Ave., is the result of a vast renovation in which the space was stripped to its bare bones and then transformed into a blend of modern and historic elements.

Kinokuniya recruited LRS Architects to reimagine the iconic venue as a retail experience, and not just a smattering of shelves and merchandise. Russell Construction served as the general contractor and WDY Inc. was the structural engineer.

“It was just a big, empty void,” LRS interior designer Jena Sinclair said. “You had to try to fill it enough, but not too crazy, like it was forced.”

Kinokuniya and the Guild Theatre both opened for business in 1927. The theater eventually closed in 2006 and remained unused until Kinokuniya moved in.

The downtown Portland location is Kinokuniya’s 13th in the United States, and 32nd outside of Japan, where it has more than 50 stores. Apart from a shop within an Uwajimaya grocery store in Beaverton, the nearest Kinokuniya stores are in San Francisco and Seattle.

Kinokuniya America is dedicated to operating stores that blend with their surroundings. For the downtown Portland store, LRS associate Ingrid Hoffman said the company wanted to create a space with hints of Japanese aesthetics, but also appeal to a wide American audience.

“One of the big priorities we had was to create a bookstore that felt like a Portland bookstore,” Hoffman said. “Portlanders don’t like chains; they like to buy local.”

The store’s aesthetics reflect the design mission. Shelves, counters and displays of clean lines and wood are contrasted by the gritty, industrial texture of the walls and exposed ceiling – the last remnants of original construction.

The building is attached to an adjacent one, with stricter fire codes usually reserved for high-rises. The team didn’t want to build a ceiling, so fireproofing material had to be applied to beams at the top of the room. This strategy was more difficult, but Hoffman said it was important to keep the skylights and overhead windows intact.

“Part of the charm of the space is that it’s such an interesting volume,” Hoffman said. “We needed to figure out a way of actually using the whole volume.”

One of the building’s few remaining structural elements was a concrete staircase that leads to an exit door. That path now leads to a mezzanine, which was built to provide space for restrooms and offices. It’s also a nook for the first-story cafĂ©, which serves Japanese tea and snacks.

The fire codes required the mezzanine be built as a freestanding structure, totally separate from and unsupported by the former theater’s concrete walls. While gaps are hidden by a seamless wooden cover that skirts along the walls, the mezzanine is separated by six inches.

Despite the challenges that come with such an old structure, the design team found opportunities within, as seen in the supporting columns that connect the floor and roof. Instead of letting these pillars interfere with the space, designers hung pegboards on them so they now serve as merchandise displays.

Also, rather than merely set up some shelves with products and call it good, Sinclair said the intention was always to take customers on a sort of journey that leads them through the aisles. The path follows the floor in a counterclockwise motion, based on the angles and placement of the cash wrap and walls, with hope that visitors will then see more sections of products.

At the top of the mezzanine upstairs, manga and comics sit in the open space uninhabited by offices and restrooms. With merchandise catered more to children, it is the one part of the store that is more playful.

And alongside that concrete staircase, the project team built a large, terraced set of wooden step seating, decorated with cushions and plants. There, visitors can relax, look out at the floor and take in the work that went into reviving a downtown landmark.

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