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    Atelier Tao+C creates “luminous” bookshop in Chinese ski resort

    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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    Linehouse defines Shanghai office with “unexpected combinations of materials”

    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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    Neri&Hu creates “wooden hut” and “cave-dwelling” interiors for Shanghai stores

    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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    Linehouse creates greenhouse-informed food market in Shanghai

    Architecture studio Linehouse has wrapped a food market in a Shanghai laneway neighbourhood around a central atrium informed by Victorian greenhouses.

    Named Foodie Social, the 2,000-square-metre food market is located within the Hong Shou Fang community – a residential area in Shanghai’s Putuo district known for its classic “longtang” laneway architecture.
    The food market is in a two-storey grey brick building in ShanghaiThe entrance to the two-storey market was framed by a double-height arrangement of stacked recycled red bricks, with a corten steel canopy added to provide shelter.
    The same recycled red bricks sourced from demolished houses in China can also be found on the interior walls, stacked to create three dimensional patterns.

    The glass pitched roof is lined with a gently curved metal trussA large glass door can be pulled open on warm days, with patterned paving from the laneway outside extending to the interior of the market, fully connecting the interior and exterior.

    The interior of the market was designed to resemble a greenhouse, with shops and cafe’s arrranged around a central, double-height atrium.
    The glass pitched roof above the atrium was lined with gently curved metal truss, in reference to Victorian greenhouses, with three large fans hanging from the metal truss to improve the air circulation.
    Some vendors are designed to be retractable to allow flexibilityA cafe in the atrium, which contains an olive tree planted into the ground, integrates a metal staircase that leads to the upper floor.
    A area describes as a “stage” is located by the staircase with a series of undulating balconies wrapped around the atrium on the upper floor.

    Overlapping concrete arches frame Bangkok shopping centre by Linehouse

    Various typologies of food vendors are arranged in the open atrium on the ground floor, some of which are designed to be retractable, allowing flexibility for different types of vendors as well as a large open event space to be formed at the centre.
    “This new typology brings together the local with more curated food offerings in a contemporary yet humble and sustainable way,” explained Linehouse’s Shanghai team who are responsible for the design.
    Recycled red bricks can be found both on the facade and interior wallsSmaller snack shops were positioned on the ground floor, while larger restaurants occupy the upper floor.
    Each stall was assembled from a kit of parts, so that the vendors are able to create their own signage and layout, but maintain a consistent material and lighting palette.
    Larger restaurants are located on the upper floorLinehouse 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.
    The studio has also recently designed the facade of a shopping centre in Bangkok and the interiors for a Hong Kong residence that respond to coastal views.
    The photography is by Wen Studio.
    Project credits:
    Design principal: Alex MokAssociate-in-charge: Cherngyu ChenDesign team: Yeling Guo, Fei Wang, Wang Jue, Norman Wang, Aiwen Shao, Mia Zhou, Yunbin Lou, Xiaoxi Chen, Tom Grannells

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    Yatofu fosters “relaxed holiday atmosphere” in Jianze showroom

    Design studio Yatofu has completed a furniture showroom in Hangzhou, China, featuring a playful pastel colour palette and a display area housed on a steel-mesh platform.

    The 80-square-metre retail space belongs to Chinese design brand Jianze and forms part of an emerging cultural district in the city’s Liangzhe New Town.
    Jianze’s facade features a floor-to-ceiling opening with retractable glazed doorsYatofu set out to create a “relaxed holiday atmosphere” inside the showroom, which was influenced by the semi-public garden terraces found in European cities and features a full-height opening with retractable glazed doors that connect it with the outdoors.
    “This blurring of the boundary between the inside and outside allows passing pedestrians to easily observe the activities that take place within the showroom while maintaining visual continuity between the street level and interior space,” the studio explained.
    A sage green steel platform creates an additional display areaInside the space, Yatofu used contrasting colours and materials to portion up the floor area while introducing a whimsical touch to reflect Jianze’s products.

    One example is the decision to juxtapose glossy white floor tiles and rough pink micro-cement to create a visual separation between different zones.
    The space is divided by contrasting flooring”The playfulness of the flooring’s colour and configuration evokes a sense of joy and vibrancy, inviting visitors to linger and explore the brand and its products with wonder and curiosity,” said Yatofu.
    The delicate colour scheme also contrasts with the raw concrete ceiling, where exposed ducting and lighting tracks add to the industrial feel.
    The studio designed the showroom as a versatile space for eventsClose to the centre of the open room, a lightweight steel mezzanine provides additional space for displaying some of Jianze’s furniture. A spiral stair in one corner offers a fun and space-efficient way of accessing the platform.
    The raised enclosure is clad in a perforated steel mesh that allows its contents to remain visible as visitors walk around the space below.

    Yatofu applies festive hues to post office in Zhejiang

    The structure is painted a light shade of sage green that complements the pink micro-cement walls and floors, adding to the calming feel of the interior.
    Built-in cabinets and shelving made from pale birch wood add tone and texture to the space. The wood was also used to create a monolithic desk in one corner that functions as a service and payment area.
    Steel pegs form an adjustable display systemOn a nearby wall, rows of detachable stainless steel pegs form an adjustable display system that can be used to support various products.
    This use of flexible displays combined with the unconventional partitioning of space contributes to “an experience that exists somewhere between a pop-up and conventional showroom”, according to Yatofu.
    The mezzanine was wrapped in perforated metal meshThe versatile space can function both as a showroom and a place for hosting events such as exhibitions or markets, in particular thanks to its connection with the surrounding public realm.
    “The showroom invites its visitors to connect to the brand through a concept that communicates joy, ease, acceptance and a willingness to share in the appreciation of lifestyle and home,” the studio said.
    The platform was painted sage green to complement the pink walls and floorsYatofu was founded in Helsinki, Finland, in 2017 and now operates globally, working across disciplines including interior architecture, product and furniture design, visual communication and strategic design.
    The studio has previously converted a post office in Zhejiang into a boldly coloured gift shop and events space, and designed the interiors for a teahouse in Helsinki featuring a palette of brick, oak and oxidised steel.
    The photography is by Wen Studio.

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    Neri&Hu highlights simplicity and functionality at Shanghai art gallery

    Chinese studio Neri&Hu has designed a contemporary art gallery for Ota Fine Arts in Shanghai with a focus on the “sublime beauty of the banal”.

    The gallery sits on the ground floor of a mixed-use tower at Rockbund, a development amidst the historical Bund in Shanghai along the Huangpu River, where a series of restored colonial art deco buildings are located.
    The entrance of the gallery features an oversized sliding door”The primary design challenge was to utilise the areas along the facade for both storage and display, blurring the distinction between functional and experiential space,” explained Neri&Hu.
    “This deepened threshold condition found on both facades defines the visitor’s arrival sequence and journey within.”
    The facade of the gallery is framed in aged steel to contrast the contemporary galleryThe facade of the gallery was framed in aged steel, with portions of solid metal and large glass panels arranged to form a window display for the artworks.

    Handmade ivory tiles line the inner side of the window in a subtle woven pattern, serving as a neutral backdrop for the art pieces.
    A warehouse-sized door can be fully open on the west facade for easy transport of large art piecesAn oversized sliding door marks the entry to the gallery on the eastern facade. When opened, the entrance of the gallery is revealed, with the outer sliding door framing the window display next to it.
    When closed, the door slides back to its original position and allows the full-height glazed window to be exposed.
    The western facade features a warehouse-sized door that can be fully opened using a custom-designed handle. This allows large artworks to be delivered directly from a designated parking area into the gallery.

    Neri&Hu divides Shanghai fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens

    Neri&Hu also added fluted glass to the exterior, which glows in the evening to illuminate the adjacent Rockbund courtyard and add elegance to the functional facade.
    Inside the gallery, the 350 square-metre space is divided into two zones – a 150-square-metre main public viewing gallery and a private zone that houses VIP rooms and office space.
    The pared-back, white VIP rooms feature contemporary furniture pieces with custom-made white tiles and a stained oak floor and were designed to create a relaxing environment, in which the attention can be focused on the art itself.
    The interior of the gallery has a neutral and simplistic tone”The project’s understated material palette and overall conceptual underpinning lies in the juxtaposition of old and new, raw and refined, ordinary and spectacular,” said Neri&Hu.
    “We hope one can appreciate the sublime beauty of the banal, as much as the brilliance of contemporary art,” it added.
    Clean white rooms are intended to highlight the art pieceNeri&Hu was founded by architects Lyndon Neri and Rosanna Hu in 2004 in Shanghai.
    Other recent projects completed by the studio include the Sanya Wellness Retreat hotel on the Chinese island of Hainan and a fashion boutique with fabrics and marble screens.
    The photography is by Zhu Runzi.
    Project credits:
    Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana HuAssociate-in-charge: Jacqueline MinSenior interior designer-in-charge: Phil WangDesign team: Rovi QuFF&E procurement: Design RepublicContractors: ETQ Project (Shanghai) Limited

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    Chongqing’s hidden factories inform interiors of Harmay beauty store

    Conveyor belts and cog-like display stands appear within this beauty store in Chongqing, China, designed by AIM Architecture, which takes cues from the city’s underground network of factories.

    Harmay is located at the heart of Chongqing inside a former shopping mall, with its entrance set below street level.
    A skylight punctures the ceiling of Harmay’s Chongqing store”The store is located underneath a large plaza with a multitude of steps going down into it,” explained Shanghai practice AIM Architecture.
    “So, to work with this unique spatial setting, we explored typologies of underground structures within the local context.”
    Products are displayed on conveyor belts, creating a factory-like settingA particular source of inspiration was the hundreds of bomb shelters that can be found beneath Chongqing, which were used to hide from Japanese air raids during world war two but have now been widely converted into shops, eateries and small-scale factories

    To imitate the enclosed feeling of these shelters, the practice used gypsum panels to form a dropped ceiling within the store, simultaneously concealing its exposed service ducts.
    These boards were also used to clad the store’s facade and have all been rendered in a brick-red hue on the interior.
    Some display stands were made to look like generatorsStainless steel was used to create a series of industrial-style display fixtures, nodding to the factories that now inhabit some of the shelters.
    This includes a long conveyor belt that snakes throughout the store’s main room with small grey crates placed at intervals along its surface, each containing different beauty products.
    Other stands look similar to machine cogsIn the store’s smaller peripheral rooms, products are showcased on gridded steel shelves and stands that were designed to look like generators or oversized machinery cogs.
    Simple strip lights were hung from the ceiling and a skylight was installed so that shoppers can look upwards to the outdoors, further enhancing the feeling of being underground.
    Gridded steel shelves were also been added to the storeAIM Architecture has designed a number of locations for beauty retailer Harmay, including an apothecary-style store in Hong Kong, and another in Hangzhou that resembles a 1970s office.
    This branch in Chongqing is shortlisted in the large retail interior category of the 2023 Dezeen Awards.
    Here, it is competing against other projects such as the Super Seed shop by FOG Architecture, which features more than 100 moving display boxes, and Kooo Architects’ Freitag store, which occupies an old textile factory.
    The photography is by Wen Studio. 

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    RooMoo reuses distillery’s old whiskey barrels to decorate its bar

    Chinese interiors studio RooMoo has used nearly 6,000 pieces of oak from discarded distillery barrels to adorn this whiskey bar in Shanghai.

    Laizhou Bar is located in the city’s buzzy Xuhui District and is an offshoot of Laizhou Distillery, a Chinese whiskey producer based out of Sichuan province.
    Wood offcuts from Laizhou Distillery’s whiskey barrels feature across the bar’s facadeThe distillery prides itself on reducing its environmental impact by using low-temperature saccharification machinery and collecting wastewater so it can be converted into biogas energy.
    So Shanghai-based studio RooMoo placed a similar emphasis on sustainability when designing the bar, where almost 6,000 pieces of wood from the distillery’s discarded oak barrels were reused as decoration.
    The offcuts were then used to construct a ringed structure on the bar’s ceiling”The bar imports the materials used in the distillery’s production process, creating a symbiosis between the two spaces,” said the studio.

    “Each dismantled barrel piece was different in terms of width, length and grain, so we classified them and applied them to different positions.”
    RooMoo assessed and classified all of the offcuts before useBarrel pieces are first seen on the bar’s facade, where they have been placed horizontally to create a lattice-like effect.
    The facade is otherwise only punctuated by a wide-set door and an expansive window, where barrels printed with the distillery’s logo are displayed.
    The bar’s slatted partition walls are also made from barrel offcutsOnce inside, guests step into a whiskey sampling area with a green marble tasting counter. Suspended directly above the space is a dramatic double-ringed sculpture crafted from barrel offcuts.
    More wooden barrel pieces were used to construct a curving, slatted partition in front of the main bar.
    A long seating banquette bends around the back of the room, accompanied by a series of black tables and leather chairs. There is also a huge light-up wall where liquor bottles are put on display.
    Black leather furnishings were incorporated throughout the main bar areaOn the ceiling here are the beginnings of another ringed sculpture, which will be completed as soon as the distillery has used up more barrels for the studio to use.
    “We made the ceiling structure beautiful enough to open the bar first,” explained the studio. “We are not hurrying to finish it, but following the production process and waiting for the wasted materials to be produced.”
    Off to the side of the main bar is a more private VIP tasting room. At its centre hangs a bespoke light crafted from the circular metal bands, which once held together the distillery barrels.
    The ceiling sculpture will be completed once the studio receives more offcutsLai Zhou Bar has made it to the shortlist in the sustainable interior category of the 2023 Dezeen Awards.
    The project is up against Edit restaurant by Elly Ward and Joe Morris, which is clad with salvaged terracotta tiles, and the Big Beauty store by Nina + Co, which is decked out in biomaterials like mycelium.

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