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      Atelier XY covers cocktail bar in Shanghai with over 1,000 insects

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      Preserved tarantulas and beetles decorate the shadowy rooms inside this bar in Shanghai, China designed by local studio Atelier XY.Atelier XY designed the bar, which is called J Boroski, to reflect its owners’ interest in insects.
      It’s located in Shanghai French Concession – a region of the city that was occupied and governed by the French state from 1849 up until 1943. Over the last few decades the area has been redeveloped, and it’s now host to a number of eateries, boutiques and quaint music venues.

      Top image: beetles cover the surfaces of the bar. Above: a glass-brick wall runs down the back of the room
      To enter the bar, visitors walk through an assuming door and up through a dark stairwell.

      “It acts as a transition between the noisy exterior and the quiet interior. Once the reception is reached, the unique character of this place slowly reveals itself,” explained the studio.

      Behind the partition are dimly lit lounge areas
      The main bar area inside is dominated by a 12-metre-long counter where up to eight mixologists can stand and rustle up cocktail orders.
      Amber-hued lights illuminate drink bottles on display, fostering a sense of warmth.

      Office AIO’s Bar Lotus in Shanghai turns from daytime cafe into evening cocktail bar

      A gridded teak-wood framework covers the wall directly behind the counter and extends up to cover half the bar’s ceiling. Every square opening in the grid is centred by a beetle – in total there are 1,254.

      Dark leather furniture features throughout the bar
      Along the rear of the bar is a glass brick wall, through the centre of which runs a series of see-through blocks that contain 42 preserved Thai Black tarantulas.
      It has also been inbuilt with a couple of black-iron drawers – when pulled out, further taxidermy insect specimens are revealed. These can also double-up as small ledges where standing visitors in the bar can rest their drinks.

      Preserved spiders are set inside the glass-brick wall
      The wall separates the bar from a couple of dim lounge areas dressed with comfy armchairs upholstered in dark, umber-coloured leather.
      A small amount of light is offered by a handful of tealight candles in glass tumblers.

      The bar includes a lab-style space where guests can watch cocktails being made
      There is also what the studio describes as a “chamber room”, which lies behind a heavy glass-brick door. Inside there’s a laboratory-style space where visitors will be invited to watch mixologists experiment with making drinks, using extravagant tools like centrifuges or rotary distillation machines.
      The dark colour palette of the bar seeps through into the bathroom, which is completely clad in glazed, oxblood-coloured tiles. It’s centred by a lengthy wooden sink.

      Oxblood-coloured tiles cover the bar’s bathroom
      Atelier XY is based in Shanghai and was established in 2018 by Qi Xiaofeng and Wang Yuyang.
      Its J. Boroski project is shortlisted in the bar interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards. It will go up against spaces such as The Berkeley Bar & Terrace by Bryan O’Sullivan Studio, which features ornate plasterwork friezes, walnut wall panelling and a blush-pink snug where guests can retire with their drinks.
      Photography is courtesy of Schran Images and Hu Yanyun.
      Project credits:
      Design: Atelier XYTeam: Qi Xiaofeng, Wang Yuyang, Chen XiProduct design: Notion Common, Atelier XYLighting: Zenko lighting design

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    • 113 Shares119 Views

      Linehouse uses typically urban materials inside Xiamen's JNBY store

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      Concrete, steel and fluted glass merge inside this shop that design studio Linehouse has created for fashion brand JNBY in Xiamen, China.Chinese cities were a key point of reference for Linehouse, which has decked out JNBY’s Xiamen store with materials often seen in dense urban settings – concrete, glass and steel.
      The interior aesthetic of this JNBY store will be rolled out across all of the brand’s future locations in China – one branch has already opened in Chengdu, and another is set to open in Changsha.

      The JNBY store features a coffered concrete ceiling
      The ceiling of the 100-square-metre store is entirely covered with concrete coffers. Each one is bordered by bright-white LED strip lights.

      A curved, steel-frame screen inset with panels of fluted glass runs around the periphery of the space, set back from the structural walls. The partition balances on chunky cylindrical blocks made from recycled concrete pavement.

      Panels of fluted glass form a screen around the edge of the store
      The urban materiality of the store is interrupted by a couple of ceramic display stands, which Linehouse formed by wrapping convex tiles around steel poles that extend from the floor to the ceiling.
      Some of the stands have been fitted with a metal ring where garments can be hung, while others have small shelves where accessories can be put on show.

      The screen’s glass panels are held within a steel framework
      Convex tiles also clad the front of JNBY’s service counter. When viewed up close, customers will be able to see a myriad of cracks, which Linehouse made visible by adding Chinese ink into the tiles’ glaze.

      John Anthony restaurant by Linehouse is “British tea hall turned Chinese canteen”

      The sculptural bases of the store’s low-lying display tables are made from grainy wood or concrete that the studio has cast against pieces of fabric.

      Convex tiles with subtle cracks clad the store’s service counter
      “The brand sought a modern approach to capture its core values, focusing on material exploration while guiding urban dwellers in appreciating the surprise and poetry of everyday life,” explained Linehouse.
      “So we wanted to contrast the urban represented by the concrete, steel and textured glass with the notion of crafted imperfection represented in the ceramic and timber detailing… they have the qualities of the handmade; variation and contrast.”

      The same tiles form a couple of vertical display stands
      Linehouse was established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling, and works between offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
      The austere material palette of the JNBY store in Xiamen is a far cry from the studio’s recently completed project, Basehall – an upscale food court in Hong Kong. Inside, the venue features walls lined with pink-metal rods, brass light fittings and a blue metalwork ceiling.
      Photography is by Dirk Weiblen.
      Project credits:
      Architect: LinehouseDesign lead: Alex Mok, Briar HicklingDesign team: Cherngyu Chen, Jingru Tong, Celine Chung

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    • 188 Shares149 Views

      O shop in Chengdu is a lifestyle store by day and a bar by night

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      A series of mirrored panels obscure the cocktail bar that lies inside this shop-cum-cafe in Chengdu, China created by design studio Office AIO.The shop, which is unusually called O, was named by its owner and the co-founder of Office AIO, Tim Kwan.

      Taking the first letter from the word “object”, Kwan and the shop owner felt that O was the “perfect shape representing eternity – it has no beginning nor end, no direction nor a right way round”.

      The looping shape of the letter O also nods to the shifting function of the 68-square-metre shop: by day it’s a cafe that sells and showcases a curated selection of lifestyle items and designer furnishings, while at night it turns into a bar.

      Down one side of the shop runs a lengthy sandstone counter where the cafe’s coffee machine is kept. Just in front is a long wooden table where the barista can prepare drink orders.
      The base of the counter has been in-built with a fireplace, which can be switched on as night falls to evoke a cosier mood within the store.

      On the other side of the store is a silver-metal shelf where products are displayed and a row of fold-down seats upholstered in tan leather.

      Chengdu cafe features interiors inspired by Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel

      The rear of the store appears to be lined with mirrored panels, but these can be drawn back to reveal the night-time drinks bar. Liquor bottles line the inner side of the panels.

      Surfaces throughout the rest of shop O have otherwise been kept simple. A patchy band of exposed concrete runs around the lower half of the walls, but off-white paint has been applied to the upper half.
      Interest is added by a handful of potted plants and a sequence of arched screens that have been suspended just beneath the ceiling.

      The last screen has been fitted with an LED strip light that can be adjusted to imbue the space with different colours.
      “[The screens] bring a sense of character to the store without occupying any footprint,” explained the studio.
      “We hope that this space will encourage quality ideas, objects, and people to interact and exchange, and ultimately reach a wholesome experience that is objectively desirable,” it concluded.

      O by Office AIO is longlisted in the small retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
      It isn’t the first day-to-night venue that the studio has created – two years ago it completed Bar Lotus in Shanghai, which boasts emerald-coloured walls and rippling rose-gold ceilings. The project won the restaurant and bar interior category of the 2019 Dezeen Awards, when judges commended its mix of contemporary and traditional references.
      Photography is courtesy of WEN Studio.
      Project credits:
      Designed by: Tim Kwan/Office AIOConstruction: Sichuan ChuFeng Architectural Decoration

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    • 113 Shares169 Views

      CL3 unveils interior design for Intercontinental Chongqing Raffles City

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      Sailing and nautical aesthetics informed CL3’s interiors for the Intercontinental hotel in the Raffles City Chongqing complex in China, which includes guest rooms that draw on the design of yacht cabins.Intercontinental Chongqing Raffles City is located in the Raffles City Chongqing development, which features a “horizontal skyscraper,” the Crystal skybridge that connects four 250-metre tall skyscrapers.
      The hotel’s location in the city’s Chaotianmen area, where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers meet, was the starting point for the designers.
      “The project has a geographical and historical significance by being where the ancient emperor sent his fleet to meet the people,” CL3  said.

      This nautical past not only informed the design of the eight streamlined skyscrapers that make up the Raffles City Chongqing complex, which features sail-like screens, it was also carried through into the interior design.

      CL3 was approached to create the interiors after working with architect Moshdie Safdie of Safdie Architects on the Marina Bay Sands project, and designed the interiors of the hotel’s main areas as well as the residential lobby and common areas for five of the towers.

      The studio was also responsible for the design of the residential clubhouse inside the signature Crystal skybridge that connects four of the towers.
      Intercontinental Chongqing Raffles City’s grand reception is located on level 42 at the skybridge and nods to the sailing theme with a reception desk shaped like the hull of a ship, complemented by lighting in the same shape.

      “The shape design echoes the water reflection during sailing in the river,” the studio said. The link bridge reception area was also decorated with marine-themed Chinese motifs and crafts.
      In the arrival lobby area, CL3 added stylised drawings of traditional ships to the mirrored walls of the elevators.

      The lobby lounge was designed to create a “mountain landscape in the sky” and filled with green plants under an arc-shaped dome.
      It features views of the skybridge that stretches across the skyscrapers, which visitors can enjoy from enveloping seats in pale wood with an undulating, wave-like shape.

      For the interior of the hotel rooms, the studio used pale wood combined with beige and cream colours and softly curved walls.
      “The inspiration from the timeless ultra-luxury of contemporary sailing vessels is reflected in the ambience, furniture selections, finishes and guest rooms, ” CL3 said.

      The nautical theme is less apparent in the Jing restaurant, which has a dark stone floor and peacock blue detailing.
      The distinctive bar, where guests can sit and enjoy a meal, has been decked out in pale blue, bright blue and white stripes that pick up the blue hues in rest of the room.

      CL3 was also behind some of the residential areas in the complex, including the residential clubhouse inside the Crystal skybridge itself which has a swimming pool, gym and a spa, as well as private function rooms.
      Rattan lounge chairs with blue upholstery surround the pool, whose “modern shape and light colours reflect the rhythm of urban life,” the studio said.

      CL3 was founded in 1992. The studio is based in Hong Kong but also has offices in Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai.
      As well as the Raffles City Chongqing complex, Safdie Architects also designed a housing development in the city, Eling Hill, consisting of a set of stepped homes on a hill overlooking the Yangtze River.
      Photography is by Feng Shao.
      Project credits:
      Client: CapitalandProject name: Intercontinental Chongqing Raffles CityProject location: No. 2 Changjiang Binjiang Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, China 400010Completion time: 2020Interior design firm: CL3 ArchitectsInterior design team: William Lim, Jane Arnett, Simon Ho, Jun Tse, Katerin TheysArchitecture design firm: Safdie Architects

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      Xiaoxi Xiong designs greyscale interiors for Fnji office in Beijing

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      The “warm sense of the future” depicted in sci-fi movie Her informed the soft grey workspaces that designer Xiaoxi Xiong has created in the Beijing office of furniture brand Fnji.The 1000-square-metre Fnji office is located northeast of central Beijing in the city’s Shunyi district.
      Chinese designer Xiaoxi Xiong was tasked with developing a striking aesthetic for the new office.

      “As the urban planning policy is tightened in Beijing, the resource of distinctive office space is rare now,” explained Xiaoxi Xiong, who leads Tra & Xi Studio alongside designer Lin Yitong. “After long term research, we chose this space in the end.”

      “Its attractive spatial advantages are the top-floor views, daylight, and the two floors which could be constructed freely.”

      Xiong wanted to imbue the office with the same “blurry and warm sense of the future” they saw in the 2013 sci-fi romance film Her, which chronicles how a shy writer gradually falls in love with an artificial intelligence system.

      Precht creates monochromatic interiors for RayData office in Beijing

      Almost every surface in the office – including the floors – has been washed with pale-grey gypsum plaster, selected for its ultra-matte surface finish.

      The plaster has also been made to cover the balustrade and treads of the curving staircase that leads up to the office’s upper level.
      Towards the back of the lower level are a couple of textural feature walls, which Xiong created by pouring semi-solidified gypsum over jumbled piles of broken bricks.

      “It’s such an interesting process to recreate an installation with recycled materials,” Xiong told Dezeen.
      “This work has a new life and exists in the space naturally.”
      Furnishings throughout the office, from the work desks to the cushioned chairs in the glass-fronted meeting rooms, are also grey.

      Two huge slate-coloured planters are installed on the lower level, and a sheer dark-grey curtain extends down from the office’s ceiling to the lower level.
      Sections of the floor are also covered by striped or checkerboard-pattern grey carpet.

      Translucent paper-like blinds hang in front of the windows to lend a soft and hazy light quality to the office interior.
      Some dark-coloured elements, like the rough black stone counter that sits towards Fnji office’s entrance, have been incorporated to “strike out the softness”.

      Much like Xiaoxi Xiong, architecture practice Precht referenced the film Her for its design of a data office in Chaoyang, Beijing.
      The floor, desks and work booths in the office are upholstered in soft grey fabric, which the practice hoped would emulate the way the film “connects technology with a very warm and tactile atmosphere”.
      Dezeen also included Her in its roundup of 10 films with striking interior design to watch under lockdown.
      Photography is by Mobai except for head image by Yu Ling.
      Project credits:
      Lead designer: Xiaoxi XiongArt director: Guqi GaoDetailed design: Juan LiSoft loading design: Yu LiEngineering manager: Mingyu ZhangEngineering execution: Jiahuan Liu

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      Air Architects lines Hangzhou's Random Art Space in light-hued oakwood

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      Pale oak surfaces contrast with dark timber beams inside Random Art Space, a gallery and cafe that Air Architects created in Hangzhou, China. Random Art Space is tucked down a lane of Ming and Qing-dynasty buildings in Hangzhou’s Shangcheng District. The 150-square-metre unit was previously occupied by a furniture retailer, but Miami-based practice Air Architects […] More

    • 138 Shares139 Views

      C+ Architects mingles old and new inside Restaurant Ya in Beijing

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      A century-old tree soars up through the roof of this restaurant in Beijing, which C+ Architects has decked out with rammed-earth tiles, travertine and timber. Restaurant Ya is nestled amongst the houses, temples and office buildings of the Dafangjia Hutong in Beijing, serving up dishes inspired by the cuisine of China’s Yunnan region. It previously […] More