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A Bamboo Sanctuary has been named Dezeen Awards China 2024 interiors project of the year following the announcement of all seven interior winners at this evening’s ceremony in Shanghai. More
This pavilion, designed by architecture firm Semester Studio for a furniture exhibition in Shanghai, was built entirely using materials that were separated and returned to their source after the show. More
Japanese studio Kooo Architects used custom-made bricks that combine compressed earth with waste tea leaves to create a natural feel inside the Théatre teashop in Beijing. More
Chinese studio Neri&Hu has completed a hotel in Shanghai alongside the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, which was also designed by the studio.
Located in Pudong District, Artyzen New Bund 31 hotel forms part of a larger development called Qiantan, which includes an office tower and a shopping centre.
The scalloped details on the entrance facade is to resonate with the arches used in the adjacent performing arts centreThe hotel, which is connected directly to the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, contains a total of 202 guest rooms is a tower above a podium.
Alongside the entrance of the hotel on the ground floor, Neri&Hu created a scallop-shaped concrete facade to recall the arches of the performing arts centre.
A large circular opening allows natural light into the ground floor lobbyGuests can go to the hotel reception on the fifth floor either directly from this gound ground floor entrance or via a lounge on the third floor that connects to performing arts centre.
According to the Shanghai-based Neri&Hu, the hotel was conceived as having been carved from a single monolithic mass.
The ground floor lobby features a large circular opening punctuating the ceiling, inviting natural light flooding into the otherwise enclosed space.
The hotel is designed to be an “urban oasis”The firth floor, which is the top of the podium block, contains all the shared amenities including reception, lounges, restaurants, event spaces, and outdoor gardens.
The facilities were placed in pavilions, which were arranged in a stone landscape that acts as a garden-like experience for guests.
Neri&Hu captures “spirit of traditional alleyways” at Shanghai arts centre
“The hotel is envisioned as an urban oasis that takes its guests on a journey of surprise and discovery,” said Neri&Hu.
“With an abundance of outdoor landscape spaces, Artyzen Qiantan offers a rare experience in an urban hotel, a sense of respite and escape from the bustling city of Shanghai,” it continued.
A series of pavilions containing facilities are located on the fifth floor. Photo by Branston Partnership IncThe colour palette for the guest rooms was informed by traditional Chinese gardens, mindful of the nature theme that is consistent throughout the hotel.
Grey stone wraps the entry and bathroom of each room, while wooden bed frames bring a sense of warmth, with bronze metal details adding a touch of luxury. Custom furniture pieces by Neri&Hu create a sense of home and casualness for the guests.
Guest rooms were designed to create a home-like experienceNeri&Hu was founded by architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu in Shanghai in 2006. Along with the New Bund Performing Arts Centre, the studio recently completed a residential block in Taiwan.
The photography is by Pedro Pegenaute unless otherwise stated.
Project credits:
Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Akrawit Yanpaisan, Scott HsuDesign team: Aleksandra Duka, Peng Guo, Danyan Jin, Andy Chen, Qiucheng Li, Elan Tao Tessie Wan, Paz Ma, Echo Li, Dania Angela Flores, Ambesh Suthar, Kathy Hu, Bella Lin, Greg Wu, Becky Zhang, Nicolas Fardet, Yin Sheng, Lili Cheng, Junho Jeon, Luna Hong, Lyuqitiao Wang, Haiou Xin, July Huang, Yuqi ZhongConsultants:Architect: Palmer & Turner ConsultantsCurtain wall consultant: Shanghai Zhulian Construction Engineering Co.Structural consultant: ArupMEP consultant: China Team Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd. Shanghai BranchLandscape consultant: East China Architectural Design & Research InstituteConstruction PM: AECOMLDI: Shanghai Tianhua Architecture Planning & EngineeringAcoustic consultant: SMW (Shanghai) Business Consulting Co.Art consultant: Art Front Gallery (Shanghai) Co.Interior LDI: Shanghai Modern Architectural Decoration Environmental Design Research Institute Co.Interior lighting: Branston Partnership Inc.Kitchen consultant: CKP Kitchen Design Consultant Co.Signage consultant: Shanghai Saichi Logo Design Engineering Co.QS: ArcadisContractors:Contractor (GC): Shanghai Construction No.4(Group) Co.Curtain wall: Wuxi Hengshang Decoration Engineering Co.Hotel public area interior: Shanghai Construction Decoration (Group) Co.Hotel guest room interior: Shanghai Haihua Construction & Decoration Engineering Co.
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Models, sketches and photos of works by architects and designers including Neri&Hu, Büro Ole Scheeren, Paul Priestman and FOG Architecture feature in Dezeen’s Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition in Shanghai.
Taking place during the World Design Cities Conference (WDCC) in Shanghai last month, Global China: Connecting The World Through Design showcased work by both Chinese and international architects and designers that bridge east and western ideologies.
The exhibition space is designed by FOG ArchitectureThe exhibition features the work of six architecture and design studios, which were selected by Dezeen to demonstrate the breadth and depth of interesting work being completed in China.
Featuring models, sketches, photography and films, the exhibition aims to demonstrate how international collaboration and cultural exchange can foster innovation while showcasing China’s influence as a growing design power.
FOG Architecture presented a model of To Summer flagship store in BeijingThe exhibition space, designed by FOG Architecture, featured a series of architecture models on a central table, with hanging graphic boards hanging from a curved rail for visitors to look through.
Three models from Chinese architecture studio Neri&Hu occupied the centre of the table, including Waterhouse at South Bund, Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat and Nantou City Guesthouse, that focus on adaptive-reuse and historic preservation.
Neri&Hu presented three of their most well-known projects”We believe that urban fabric and architectural memory should be preserved with a critical approach that exemplifies the zeitgeist within the specificity of context,” said the Shanghai-based studio.
“Our built works show the possibility of creating unexpected spatial experiences in historic buildings, giving them new life.”
The twisted Tencent Helix is one of Ole Scheeren’s highlighted projectsBüro Ole Scheeren also presented three models, the Axiom, Tencent Helix and Shenzhen Wave, that best represent the studio’s futuristic vision for China’s urban landscape.
AIM Architecture created AIM City, a curated collection of the studio’s projects that form an experimental city concept for renewal and innovation.
AIM Architecture created an utopia urban city focused on renewal and innovation”Every street and building are reimagined, offering unexpected moments and fresh possibilities, embodying our vision of continuous urban evolution,” said the studio.
“Past, present, and future merge in a dynamic landscape of regeneration and sustainability.”
Paul Priestman showcased his latest Viewpoint conceptBritish transport designer Priestman presented his latest work Viewpoint, a sightseeing ship where all passengers would have undisrupted views of cityscapes. Also on display are hydrogen powered locomotives concept Inter-Freight as well as his previous designs for China high-speed trains.
Chinese furniture designer Min Chen presented a bench called A Piece of Wood, that used Chinese traditional kite frame made of bamboo with the shape informed by airplane wings. His work is known for its modern expression in traditional materials and craftsmanship.
Min Chen presented a bench that utilises Chinese craftsmanshipFOG Architecture presented ToSummer Flagship in Beijing Guozijian, which was crowned Interior Project of the Year at Dezeen Awards China last year. Others on display are HCH Showroom for Shanghai Fashion Week and Cycle Cycle Portable Bakehouse, which was longlisted at this year’s Dezeen Awards.
The photography is by Xiaobin Lyu.
Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition ran from 27 to 30 September on the third floor of Dingbo Building as part of World Design Cities Conference 2024. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Media partnership
Dezeen curated the Global China: Connecting The World Through Design exhibition for WDCC as part of a media partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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Chinese interior studio Various Associates has completed an irregular pyramid-shaped flagship store for drone brand DJI in Shenzhen, China.
Located at OCT Harbour on the shores of Shenzhen Bay, the flagship store was designed to demonstrate the Chinese drone company’s latest technology.
Various Associates designed the largest DJI flagship in ShenzhenThe 4000-square-metre store contains spaces for product display, a gallery, customer service area and an event space in four floors, in addition to a public park called DJI Oasis, which is used for drone flights.
The multi-facated facade was clad in granite with large triangular windows on the angled surfaces facing the park, which is connected to the second floor via an outdoor, zigzagging staircase.
A new staircase connecting all floors is inserted into the buildingGentle ramps in the park lead visitors into the store, while forming a series of triangular patterns, responding to the same geometric form of the architecture.
To minimise the direct sun exposure from the glass facade, Various Associates inserted an “interior skin” of stainless steel louvres to the outer shell of the building.
The second layer forms an origami shape on the ceiling that corresponds to the outer shape.
Various Associates designs Voisin Organique restaurant to resemble a gloomy valley
“We hope to solve the problems of site mobility and sun exposure through a holistic program, and simplify the visual complexity of the interior walls and window sills, while retaining the original geometric aesthetics of the site architecture,” explained the Shenzhen-based studio.
“The newly added ‘interior skin’ filters the sunlight, casting unique daylight patterns throughout the day, creating a sense of outdoors.”
Display tables and lightings are informed by DJI’s classic drones’ propeller bladesOn the ground floor, DJI’s drone products are displayed on custom-made tables in angled shape of the brand’s classic drones’ propeller blades.
They are lit from above by lights, which are same shape, suspended from the ceiling.
A gallery-like space on the third floor is used to exhibit photographyThe third floor of the building contains the Hasselblad Experience Station – a joint display area for DJI and Swedish camera and lenses brand Hasselblad.
The gallery-like space with a darker tone contrasts the bright and airy product section downstairs, which is used for showcasing the photography created by DJI and Hasselblad.
An event space on the top floor features a 15-meter-high ceilingThe building is topped with the 15-meter-high DJI Horizon Hall, which was designed as an event venue. According to the studio, the dramatic geometric space naturally draws visitors to look up upon entering, evoking the actions of watching a drone taking off.
Various Associates is an architecture and interior design studio founded by Dongzi Yang and Qianyi Lin in 2017. Elsewhere in Shenzhen, the studio previously designed a cafe and cocktail bar that emulates a small cosy cabin.
The photography is by SFAP.
Project credits:
Architect: Various AssociatesChief designers: Qianyi Lin, Dongzi YangProject management: Hanqun CaiDesign team: Yuwen Deng, Zebing Li, Benzhen Pan, Chao Luo, Junrui Zhang, Qian Xie, Yue ZhangLighting design: GD Lighting DesignMEP design: Tongji ArchitectsStructural design: Tongji ArchitectsContractor: HECIAN
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Interior studio Atelier Tao+C has completed a light-filled bookshop with a timber roof at a ski report in northern China for local retailer Naïve.
Located in the ski resort of Aranya Chongli in northern China, the bookshop was built within an existing concrete frame.
A circular opening on the pitched roof allows natural light inA grid of steel and timber frameworks were inserted in between the concrete columns of the original building, while the partition walls of the 420-square-metre space were removed, creating unobstructed views from interiors to the exteriors.
“We conceived the new Naïve bookshop as a luminous space in the midst of ice and snow, seamlessly integrated with the surrounding landscape, climate and nature,” said the Shanghai-based studio.
A gridded framework of timber and steel is inserted into the concrete spaceThe timber frame was raised at the south side of the building, taking advantage of the double height ceiling of the original structure and forms a pitched roof with a circular opening.
The south facade allows views of sloping snow field and forest from the building through the timber-framed, full-height windows.
Translucent fibreglass on top of the display tables add warmth to the interiorsThe south facing glazed facade along with the circular opening on the pitched roof allow plenty of natural light into the space, creating playful lighting dynamics throughout the day.
The bookshelves and seatings were arranged along the grids along with a cafe, library and leisure area.
The glazed facade invite the snowy landscape into the buildingThe timber bookshelves are supported by a stainless steel structure, while the display tables are made of the same timber on wheels but covered by an extra layer of fibreglass with round edges, creating visually lightweight and translucent installations that also allow flexibility.
“The light birch and fibreglass complement the snowy landscape, making the previously grey concrete space more exquisite and brighter, like warm mist rising from the snow,” said Atelier Tao+C.
“As the sunlight moves, penetrated, and filtered by the texture of the fibreglass material, softens the hard light and cast soft shadows, the honey colour light oscillates and flows in the space.”
Atelier Tao+C creates serene timber and travertine reading room
Bespoke furniture pieces were placed along the south window facade, accommodating both solo resting and casual gatherings.
Three banquettes in a fluid and meandering shape combine seats on one side and display table on the other, providing an easy access to books for resting customers.
The bookshop is located in a ski resortAtelier Tao+C was founded in 2016 by Chunyan Cai and Tao Liu, who will join Dezeen Awards China as judges for the interiors category. They have recently selected five projects for Dezeen that best reflect their work.
The photography is by Wen Studio.
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Interior design studio Linehouse has renovated an office in Shanghai using numerous materials and art from a local gallery.
Linehouse refurbished the ground floor of a three-storey building in Shanghai that The Independents global marketing group have occupied in Shanghai for numerous years.
The office is located in a three-storey building in ShanghaiThe 374-square-metre space was designed as a communal area for the staff working on the floors above.
It includes a reception area, meeting rooms, pantry and communal eating space as well as a flexible deskspace for twenty people.
Metal curtains are used to blur the boundary between different functional spacesAdditionally, an art installation area has been integrated, taking advantage of the high lofty ceiling of the space, which will be used for monthly rotational curation.
Linehouse aimed to create a destination by presenting art from a local gallery, which will be rotated monthly, in the space. Combined with numerous materials and abstract furniture pieces, the studio forms what the studio called an “unexpected collection”.
The entrance features a circular seating installation wrapped in metal curtain”The support of the client to design an office that pairs unexpected combinations of materials was refreshing and a challenge,” said Linehouse.
“The result is a space that allows art to breathe and creates a welcoming, natural and open place of work.”
The workstations are located in a sunken seating areaThe spaces are each defined by different materials. Marine plywood was used for the wall of the reception and pantry area, separating them from the meetings rooms. The same plywood was used for to the workstations located in a sunken seating area.
A circular seating area was wrapped in a metal curtain, with five-meter-high curtains used to divide other spaces.
Linehouse transforms Shanghai swimming pool into office space
A customised table, made from different shaped pieces of marble and laminates, is used for meetings and dining.
Other tables in the meeting room features unique surfaces — one being a patchwork of timber textures and the other a gradient of glass transparency, from solid black to transparent.
“The design challenges the traditional notion of an office to promote a healthier and creative mindset to collaboration and communication, with emphasis on openness and autonomy for how staff use and occupy the spaces,” Linehouse concluded.
Marine plywood is used on the walls of the pantryLinehouse is a Hong Kong and Shanghai-based architecture and interior design studio established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling.
The duo won the emerging interior designer of the year category at the 2019 Dezeen Awards.
Meeting rooms feature custom made tablesThe studio has also recently designed a greenhouse-informed food market in Shanghai and the facade of a shopping centre in Bangkok.
The photography is by Dirk Weiblen.
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Chinese studio Neri&Hu has completed two retail spaces for Shanghai fashion company Jisifang, using wood and concrete to evoke “a more primitive state of being”.
The two adjacent stores are located at Panlong Tiandi development in Shanghai. One was designed for Jisifang Boutique and the other for its sister brand Woven Moonlight, also owned by Jisifang.
Neri&Hu has designed two adjacent stores in ShanghaiAccording to the Shanghai-based studio, each store was tailored to its distinct brand identities and varying spatial requirements.
A wooden house was inserted into the 110-square-metre Jisifang Boutique, the sloping roof of which takes advantage of the full height space to create a “spacious sanctuary”, the studio said.
A wooden house structure was inserted into Jisifang Boutique”The design concept is inspired by French architecture theorist Marc-Antoine Laugier’s Primitive Hut, said to be the fundamental prototype of all architecture,” explained Neri&Hu.
“Stripped of decoration and style, the primitive hut establishes a relationship between humans and the natural world, providing both shelter and a connection to nature,” it added.
White oak furniture creates a warm interiorA long table and benches made of white oak are placed at the centre of the space, with fashion garments displayed at the lower end of both sides of the roof.
Handmade ceramic floor tiles with muted colours were used throughout the space, referencing the warm and natural textures of the linen products that the brand is known for.
Glass bricks with rustic metal lining are featured on the facadeThe facade features glass bricks lined with rustic metal elements, inviting natural light and framing views of the bustling retail street outside into the shop.
In contrast, Neri&Hu created a cave-like shelter made of concrete for the 200-square-metre Woven Moonlight.
Neri&Hu divides Shanghai fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens
Concrete walls enclose the main display area, which features carved-out display niches. These have been lined with translucent linen curtains and fitted with custom-built walnut cabinetry, contrasting the roughness of the concrete.
A double-pitch sloped ceiling was clad with the same concrete as the walls. Skylights on the ceiling, as well as full-height glass windows on one side, fill the space with plenty of natural light.
Linen and walnut wood contrast the concrete in Woven Moonlight”In the case of both the wooden hut and the cave-dwelling, we are exploring the original space of our humanity, harkening a return to a more primitive state of being,” said Neri&Hu.
“We hope that when people touch the linen fabric of Jisifang, their mood and spirit may transcend the urban environment, back to nature,” it continued.
The Wooven Moonlight store features a double-pitch sloped ceiling clad with concreteNeri&Hu was founded by architects Lyndon Neri and Rosanna Hu in 2004 in Shanghai.
The studio also recently completed a simplicity contemporary art gallery, and a fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens, both in Shanghai.
The photography is by Pedro Pegenaute.
Project credits:
Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Siyu ChenDesign team: Greg Wu, Jinghan Li, Nicolas Fardet, Saint Xu, Shuan Wu, Yinan Zhu, Yoki YuFF&E design and procurement: Design RepublicLighting Consultant: DLX Lighting DesignContractor: Nantong Huaqiang Construction
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