VDF studio profiles: Shanghai design studio Arizon specialises in the planning and interior design of retail spaces, from boutique department stores to shopping malls.
The studio was founded in 2008 by Junwei Shen. Over the course of his career, the designer witnessed the rapid evolution of Chinese commerce from standalone shops to giant malls, which is why he prides himself in creating interiors that are able to adapt to the evolving needs of different businesses.
“We exploit the aesthetic and business potential of architecture to the full,” he explained.
“Through avant-garde artistic approaches and an awareness of ecology, we hope to create ineffably inspiring and surprising spatial experiences that help our clients to grow their businesses.”
The Fortune Bridge features arched recesses to create functional spaces within a walkway
The studio often makes use of natural lighting and geometric lines in its projects, and uses blank spaces strategically.
This can be seen in its design for the Fortune Bridge – a pedestrian walkway leading to the Vita Rive Gauche shopping boulevard in the town of Zhengzhou.
By adding arched recesses to either side of a central footpath, Arizon was able to turn this simple thoroughfare into a multi-functional space that can play host to cultural and culinary events, and house further retail units.
Stain glass windows feature in the Vita Green community mall
Elsewhere in Zhengzhou, the studio was also responsible for Block B of the Vita Green community mall, which Shen describes as a “feast of light and shade”.
“The facade is clad in wire mesh and sunlight enters the interior from different directions through stained glass windows,” he added. “This creates an amazing play of shadows that breathes life into the whole mall.”
Another of Arizon’s retail projects is situated in Dezhou and celebrates the city’s rich history as a trading port – a virtue of its proximity to the Wei River.
This legacy is visualised in the Inzone mall through a system of ceiling baffles, which jut out to create the impression of being underwater and looking up at the hull of a boat as it cuts through the surface.
The ceiling fins of Inzone mall are shaped like the hull of a boat
Similarly, the studio clad the entryway of the Kids World in Shanghai’s Joy City mall with a gradient of rainbow-coloured tubes, designed to resemble the stems of fantastical flowers breaking through soil.
Faced with the challenge of consolidating three different, staggered ceiling heights, Arizon introduced a system of undulating shapes throughout the space, replicating the silhouette of gently rolling hills.
The project earned Arizon a German iF Design Award for interior architecture this year.
Multicoloured tubes cover the walls and ceiling of Joy City’s Kids World
Studio: Arizon
Website: arizon.com.cn
Contact address: info@arizon.com.cn
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Source: Rooms - dezeen.com
