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    Geometric metal fixtures feature in Wuhan's QYF fashion boutique

    Chinese design studio Sun Concepts Office has accented the pale interior of the QYF boutique in Wuhan with straight, curved and squiggly metal fixtures.

    The interior’s clean, geometric look is meant to reflect the modern womenswear on offer in the store, which occupies two storeys on a prominent corner plot of Wuhan’s Tianyuan Street.
    The store features creamy walls and matching stone floorsAs customers come through QYF’s entrance, they’re welcomed into a large open room.
    Here, the floor is lined with cream-coloured stone tiles while a matching shade of paint was applied to the store’s walls, ceilings and chunky structural columns.
    A curved bench sits at the centre of the floor planAt the heart of the plan is an arced bench, comprised of a shiny metal base and seating cushions upholstered in burnt-orange velvet.

    Nearby, a cream-coloured sideboard is outfitted with a built-in bench and a small stool.
    Clothes are hung from linear metal railsOtherwise, Sun Concepts Office left the store free of bulky display solutions so as to “protect the integrity of the space”.
    Garments are showcased on metal rails at the periphery of the store, some of which are finished with squiggly crossbars. A couple of clothing rails were also concealed behind alcoves in the walls.

    Atmosphere Architects creates optical illusion in Chengdu jewellery store

    Accessories are presented on tiered platforms that run along the outer edge of the store, or on circular metal stands that are affixed to the central bench.
    Extra rows of metal shelves can be seen on the store’s rear wall, positioned beneath an illuminated sign that reads QYF’s French brand slogan.
    Several rectangular mirrors were added to enhance the interior’s sense of depth.
    Curved stairs lead to the second floorA curved set of stairs leads up to the store’s second floor, which was finished in the same style.
    Sun Concepts Office also updated QYF’s facade, installing a huge metal door and several expansive glass windows to tempt passing pedestrians inside.
    Mirrored panels help give the room a sense of depthOther striking retail spaces in China include KVK, an all-black jewellery boutique that plays with customers’ spatial perception, and Harmay, a cosmetics shop designed to resemble a 1970s office.
    The photography is by Liu Zheng and Wang Minjie.
    Project credits:
    Design team: Sun Concepts OfficeChief designer: Liu ZhengLighting: Wuhan Lighting Design

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    Atmosphere Architects creates optical illusion in Chengdu jewellery store

    Geometric grids cover most of the surfaces in this futuristic jewellery store in Chengdu, China, designed by local studio Atmosphere Architects to play with customers’ spacial perception.

    Located in the Jingronghui shopping centre in Chegdu’s Jinjiang district, the 180-square-metre concept store belongs to jewellery brand Kill Via Kindness, abbreviated as KVK.
    KVK is a jewellery store in Chendu’s Jingronghui shopping centreThe store features a dimly-lit entrance lined with green resin panels, which leads through to a windowless display space where the walls are clad in matt black tiles.
    A gridded black framework is installed across the interior’s luminous, frosted acrylic ceiling and matched below by white floor tiles. At one end of the room, a mirrored wall creates the impression that the interior stretches on to infinity.
    Glossy black tiles cover the store’s modular display units”The core concept behind KVK is ‘the reorganised philosophy of art’,” Atmosphere Architects told Dezeen. “Therefore, the client wanted a space that is flexible and easy to reorganise with flexible and adaptable modules.”

    In response, the studio created display units clad in glossy black tiles, which can be divided and joined together to form different modular configurations.
    Drawers hidden in the walls illuminate when openedDrawers integrated into the shop’s tiled walls provide additional storage and double up as adaptable lighting features.
    “When the drawers are pulled out, the light turns on immediately,” said Atmosphere Architects, which is led by designer Tommy Yu.

    Linehouse designs space-themed cafe in Shanghai for creator of “Australia’s most Instagrammed dessert”

    Spiders are a reoccurring motif in KVK’s jewellery. The brand’s concept store nods to this idea via the spindly legs jutting out from the entrance and the black gridded framework that covers the floors and ceilings like a web.
    “There are many elements about conflict, consciousness awakening, aggression and sharpness in KVK’s product concept,” the studio said.
    “In the space, materials and colours with different lights and shades, depths and textures are selected to express the ideology and beauty of collision.”
    The entranced is lined with green resin panelsOther futuristic monochrome interiors featured on Dezeen include a space-themed cafe in central Shanghai by design studio Linehouse.
    The photography is by Chuan He of Here Space.

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    Natuzzi's Fabio Novembre-designed concept store celebrates the brand's Puglian roots

    Promotion: designer Fabio Novembre’s concept store for Italian furniture brand Natuzzi celebrates the brand’s Puglian roots with an interior that reflects the culture, colours and traditions of the southern Italian region.

    Novembre, who was born in the Puglian city of Lecce, has created a “new retail concept” for Natuzzi at its Milan flagship store that will be launched during Milan design week next month.
    Designed to make the furnishings stand out, the renovated store interior is anchored by a square-shaped central lounge area that sits at its heart. This piazza-like space is lined with lights and arches that recall traditional Apulian architecture.
    Natuzzi is an Italian furniture brandThe central space is used for meetings with customers and also provides an area where they can try out the brand’s virtual 3D shopping experience.
    Arranged around the central space, various room sets can be accessed through the arches, creating easy and free-flowing pathways through the space.

    Four of the room sets are dedicated to the living area while another three spaces set out total living proposals. The Apulian landscape – which is characterised by farms, olive trees and a particular warm light – is conveyed through the soft colour choices and tactile materials that create a relaxed mood.
    Natuzzi creates a range of high quality furniture”There is a deep connection between Fabio and Natuzzi: we share the love for our roots, for what Apulia taught us,” said chief creative officer of Natuzzi Italia, Pasquale Junior Natuzzi.
    “When we decided to rethink the concept of our showrooms we immediately thought he would be the right choice, as he has a unique ability to translate into architecture those values we share: hospitality, warmth, Mediterranean beauty.”
    “Natuzzi is the perfect interpreter to narrate Apulia to an international audience,” commented Novembre. “Places have a soul, and Apulia has always been a crossroads of different cultures that live together in harmony. We are a symbolic bridge over the Mediterranean.”
    The concept will be launched during Milan design week next monthDuring Milan design week, the courtyard spaces adjacent to the showroom in Palazzo Durini Caproni di Taliedo will host an installation called Germogli, which translates as sprouts or shoots in English.
    Conceived by Italian artist and designer Marcantonio, a series of gigantic golden olive tree sprouts, almost four metres tall, will appear as if they are emerging from the earth.
    The golden olive tree sprouts intended to explore humanity’s connection to natureThe installation explores the idea of rebirth and our connection to nature.
    “The sprouts I have represented are the olive, the symbolic tree of Puglia,” said Marcantonio. “Its wood is precious, it is strong, its fruit is an emblem of fertility and memory for all towns dotted across the Mediterranean, and it provides a unique cultural connection between them”.
    Giampaolo Sgura’s photographic exhibition called TRE(E)PIDATION will also be on showThe brand hopes that the installation will also throw the spotlight on an urgent problem facing olive groves in Puglia where a bacterial disease called Xylella is causing substantial problems in the olive groves and risks compromising crops across Europe.
    Also on show is Giampaolo Sgura’s photographic exhibition called TRE(E)PIDATION.
    The exhibition will present three photographs of olive trees that showcase a landscape that “risks disappearing forever” due to the Xylella epidemic and was created to promote public awareness of the issue and support scientific research.
    Fabio Novembre has collaborated with Pj NatuzziIn 2019, the Italian furniture brand embarked on what it called “a new era of advanced, white-glove customer service” by launching a virtual-reality shopping experience.
    Natuzzi’s showroom takes place from 10 am to 8.30 pm from 7 to 12 June 2022.
    To learn more about the brand, visit its website.
    Partnership content
    This article was written by Dezeen for Natuzzi as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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    Bunn Studio designs Garde Hvalsøe showroom to resemble grand apartment

    New York practice Bunn Studio has revamped a furniture showroom set in a Renaissance building in Aarhus, Denmark, to look more like an apartment than a store.

    Designed for Danish cabinet maker Garde Hvalsøe, the showroom houses the brand’s signature handcrafted kitchens and walk-in wardrobes alongside a selection of furnishings.
    Garde Hvalsøe’s Aarhus showroom is set in a Renaissance buildingThe 600-square-metre space is split over two levels and six different rooms, including a bathroom and a kitchen set-up much like a real residence.
    Although not typically included in a cabinet maker’s showroom, these spaces are designed to help customers visualise the furniture in their own homes.
    The store is split across six rooms including a kitchen”The layout is built with elements from a classic American high-end apartment including an entrance slash kitchen, lounge area, and a bedroom slash self-care area,” Bunn Studio explained.

    The Renaissance building dates back to 1898 and features high ceilings, slender proportions and large windows that admit a warm ambient light.
    Modern furnishings are contrasted against hand-painted glass ceilingsBunn Studio, led by Louise Sigvardt and Marcus Hannibal, wanted to create a mellow and laid-back atmosphere in the space using this natural light as the starting point.
    “The aim of the design was to create a place where visitors can spend their entire day comfortably and that invites guests to slow down and become aware of the details that characterise Garde Hvalsøe furniture,” the practice said.
    A large vanity mirror sits at the end of the first floorNo doors separate the different rooms, enabling visitors to see straight from the first-floor entrance to the mirror at the opposite end of the showroom in one long, unbroken line.
    Garde Hvalsøe’s minimalist and contemporary designs, including beds and bathtubs, sit in contrast with the building’s original features such as ornamented columns, mouldings and hand-painted glass ceilings.

    Brdr Krüger’s first showroom features soft colours and rococo references

    Bunn Studio selected a colour scheme to honour the existing features of the space, with the top of the walls painted in a dark chocolate brown.
    This makes the ceilings seem lower and creates a more intimate, cosy and domestic atmosphere, according to the practice.
    The top of the walls is painted in a dark chocolate brownThe earthy, natural colours of the columns and the walls are contrasted with lighter hues such as the shirting blue pinstripe of the bedding, the red Verona Rossa stone on the vanity table and the bright yellow lampshade that tops the floor lamp in the lounge.
    “We launched our first flagship showroom in Copenhagen in 2019 and opening our redesigned secondary space in Aarhus is an exciting progression for us,” commented Garde Hvalsøe founder Søren Hvalsøe Garde.
    “Bunn Studio has designed a bright and beautiful space where we can truly showcase our craftsmanship, our holistic approach to design and our quest for exquisite quality.”
    The showroom also features a bathroom set-upBunn Studio was also responsible for the design of the first standalone Copenhagen showroom from Danish furniture brand Brdr Krüger, which references the history of both the company and the location.
    The photography is by Michael Rygaard.

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    Burdifilek creates “zen-like ambience” in Seoul shopping mall

    Indoor trees, natural light and a sculptural 12-metre-high waterfall help to create a calming shopping experience inside the Hyundai Seoul department store in Seoul, with interiors designed by Canadian studio Burdifilek.

    Hyundai Seoul, which opened last year, is the largest shopping centre in the South Korean capital and spans 89,100 square metres – the equivalent of around 13 football fields.
    Raised platforms integrate trees and waterfalls into Hyundai Seoul’s atriumToronto-based Burdifilek was responsible for designing three of the 12 floors including a central atrium topped with a lightwell. This extends through the core of the building to funnel sun into the expansive floorplan.
    All of the retail spaces are organised around the atrium, which doubles up as a green belt to provide tranquil views of greenery and water from every vantage point.
    The platforms are held up by skinny columnsBurdifilek achieved its “zen-like ambience” through the addition of stilted platforms housing trees and waterfalls that cascade into shallow pools from a height of up to 12 metres.

    “Hyundai’s vision was to allocate 50 per cent of this floor plate to create public spaces where people can socialise in a much more experiential environment than the typical mall experience has to offer,” said Diego Burdi, co-founder and creative director of Burdifilek.
    “In the end, our solution was inspired by Seoul’s surrounding nature. We chose to bring the outside in and create something unexpected that plays with scale.”
    The second floor houses high-end womenswearThe studio designed each floor to have a distinct visual language.
    The second floor, housing high-end womenswear, is a neutral gallery-like space with a subdued tonal palette.
    Instead of flashy colours, Burdifilek created interest through the use of flowing forms, contrasting textures and layers of reflective and translucent materials.
    Rippled ceiling panels create the impression of looking up at a reflective pondMirrored panels installed along the inner edges of the ceiling are rippled like water and create the effect of glancing up at a reflecting pond.
    Custom hanging fixtures were installed to create a feeling of lightness while indirect lighting emphasises the sinuous lines of the building.

    Drone video showcases exterior of 1,000 Trees by Heatherwick Studio

    The third floor features similar sculptural elements to those used on the second floor. But here, forms are bolder, colours are darker and natural materials are juxtaposed with more industrial ones.
    Cobalt-blue ribbons are used to suspend clothing racks from an unfinished ceiling, while custom-built mirrored display cases allow the featured brands to take centre stage.
    Ceilings are left unfinished on the third floor”Our philosophy was to create environments on each floor that would speak to a specific demographic, with a different design language while evoking nature in the spaces in various ways,” Burdi said.
    “We also strived to create some commonality through sculptural elements that will resonate with the guests and give a physical experience of wandering and exploring.”
    Mirrored display cases allow products to take centre stageBurdifilek was co-founded by Burdi and Paul Filek in 1993.
    Previous projects by the Toronto-based firm include the flagship for Canadian jacket brand Moose Knuckles, where dimly lit interiors evoke winter’s frigid darkness.
    The photography is by Yongjoon Choi.

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    Nika Zupanc brings “Alice in Wonderland ambience” to Morela eyewear store in Ljubljana

    Massive lamps, rotating mirrors and a legion of drawers feature inside the Morela eyewear store, which Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc has completed in Ljubljana.

    Morela has been offering optician services in the Slovenian capital since the early 2000s and went on to launch its own line of glasses in 2019.
    Locally based Zupanc was brought in to design both the brand’s debut eyewear collection and now the retail space to match.
    Powder-blue drawers appear throughout the Morela eyewear storeSet in Ljubljana’s Citypark shopping centre, the store is defined by the slim powder-blue drawers with brass knobs, which appear everywhere from the cash desk to the base of the freestanding counters and low-lying sideboards.
    “The client had a clear idea of how many glasses they wanted to display on the shelves, how many they wanted to put in the drawers and how many they wanted to display on the tables,” explained Zupanc.

    “Thus a drawer became a unit of measurement and served as a building block, from which the entire interior was created.”
    Brass-edged mirrors can be turned to show different angles of the storeThe abundant storage is also a nod to one of Zupanc’s earlier designs – a 140-drawer cylindrical cabinet she created for Milan’s Rossana Orlandi Gallery in 2017.
    Eyewear models are displayed along the sides of the room inside brass-framed shelves that mirror the proportions of the drawers.
    A curtain hides treatment rooms at the back of the storeTo enhance the “Alice in Wonderland ambience” of the space, Zupanc introduced two huge floor lamps with pleated white shades, both handmade in Italy.
    One towers above the cash desk while the other pokes out through a blush-coloured velvet pouf to provide both lighting and seating. Alternatively, customers can sit on velvet-upholstered high chairs that are dotted across the room.

    Nika Zupanc designs a tower of drawers for storing keepsakes

    Mirrors are suspended from a thin brass picture rail that runs along the perimeter of the room. Each is housed in a circular brass frame and can be rotated to reflect different angles of the room.
    The rail also holds heavy powder-blue curtains that separate the main shop floor from a treatment area and repair room at the rear of the plan.
    A brass pipe runs along the upper edge of the roomOther striking eyewear stores include Vision Studio in Melbourne, which hides behind a perforated aluminium facade, and the Cubitts shop in London’s Soho, which nods to the sex shops and adult cinemas found in the notorious neighbourhood.
    The photography is by Saša Hess.

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    Jacquemus creates surrealist interpretation of his own bathroom for Selfridges pop-up

    French fashion designer Simon Jacquemus has opened a series of surrealist pop-up installations at London department store Selfridges, including a luxury-bag vending machine and a swimming-pool changing room.

    Titled Le Bleu, the installation occupies a number of locations across the store, including its creative retail space The Corner Shop and the Old Selfridges Hotel, a former hotel space that is now being used as a pop-up venue.
    The pop-up installations are located in and around Selfridges on Oxford StreetThe Corner Shop, which functions as the installation’s main retail space, features pale blue tiles blanketed across its interior. In its window, a large transparent tube of toothpaste spills ribbons of red and white gel.
    An oversized bathtub, sponges, shower facilities and sinks were also installed in the space, where they function as display areas for a selection of exclusive Jacquemus products and pieces from the brand’s Spring Summer 2022 collection.
    An oversized glass with a fizzing tablet is among the designsThe pop-up spaces were designed as a “surrealist reimagining of Jacquemus founder Simon Jacquemus’ very own bathroom,” Selfridges said.

    “I wanted to create crazy and unrealistic installations, all related to water and bathroom imagery,” said Jacquemus, founder of the eponymous brand.
    The designer was inspired to create one of the installations, an oversized glass, after seeing a tablet fizzing in a glass of water.
    “I also love how the giant tablet glass would also be very ‘eye calming’, a kind of visual ASMR installation in the middle of the Corner Shop,” he said.
    A 24-hour vending titled 24/24 is located behind the storeOn Edwards Mews behind Selfridges, a life-sized vending machine stocked with exclusive editions of the brand’s Chiquito and Bambino bags can be accessed for shopping 24 hours a day.
    A large circular opening marks the entrance to the space, a square room lined with five-by-five rows of bags and accessories displayed in oversized, deep blue-hued vending machines.
    Le Bleu includes three installationsAt the Old Selfridges Hotel, the final pop-up – a sensory installation titled Le Vestiaire – references swimming-pool changing rooms.
    Visitors are greeted by the now-familiar blue tiles, which cover the walls, floor and furniture of the space.

    Balenciaga wraps London store in pink faux fur to celebrate its Le Cagole “it-bag”

    A curved welcome desk was positioned in front of a tile-clad wall that holds a collection of rolled-up towels.
    Blue lockers and changing cubicles line the walls at the rear of the space and include “3D experiences” that draw on the iconography of surrealist French filmmaker Jacques Tati.
    It follows a number of installations that have taken place across Europe’s fashion capitals”Each experience is very different and playful, but my favourite would be Le Vestiaire, as it’s the first time we have invested in a space like this, with 3D experiences and crazy installations with our Jacquemus products,” said Jacquemus.
    “I wanted to recreate an accumulation of lockers with different 3D experiences inside, inspired by Jacques Tati movies.”
    Smaller installations were incorporated within the interior of lockers and behind cubicle doorsThe three pop-up installations are open from 3 May until 4 June 2022.
    The installation is the latest edition of a series of Jacquemus’ vending machine pop-ups located across Europe’s fashion capitals, including Milan and Paris.
    It was inspired by Jacques Tati filmsIn 2019, Jacquemus designed a Parisian restaurant named Oursin that featured whitewashed walls, colourful ceramics and rattan furnishings in an effort to “perpetuate summer”.
    French fashion brand Balenciaga recently transformed its Mount Street store into a temporary faux fur lined pop-up dedicated to its Le Cagole line.
    Images are courtesy of Selfridges.

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    Ten outlandish shop interiors that reimagine the retail experience

    A pink furry fashion boutique, a cosmetics store styled like a 1970s office and a streetwear outlet adorned with a chandelier of Nike trainers feature in this roundup of weird and wonderful retail interiors.

    The past year has seen a growing trend for over-the-top shop interiors, from stores containing surreal sculptures and installations to those masquerading as something else entirely.
    Below are 10 unusual retail spaces recently covered on Dezeen:
    Photo courtesy of BalenciagaBalenciaga Mount Street, UK
    Designer fashion label Balenciaga has temporarily covered its Mount Street store in London with fluffy bright pink faux fur to celebrate its Le Cagole bag and launch a collection of accessories and shoes.

    The maximalist look is intended to match the Le Cagole identity, which takes its name from French slang for an “over-the-top attitude”.
    Find out more about Balenciaga’s Mount Street store ›
    Photo is by Anna MorgowiczBala SoHo, USA, by Ringo Studio
    Brooklyn-based Ringo Studio designed this retail space in New York City for fitness brand Bala as a pastel-coloured “playground” containing giant replicas of its products.
    These include a 12-foot version of the Bala Beam weight propped against a mirrored wall and an oversized ankle weight forming a squishy leather seat.
    Find out more about Bala’s SoHo store ›
    Photo is by Alex LysakowskiSuperette Toronto, Canada
    Marijuana store chain Superette bases its shops on nostalgic retail environments, and for this outlet in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto its in-house design team took cues from a classic Italian deli.
    The cannabis dispensary’s lime-green walls, tomato-red stools and checkerboard floor were intended to create a “convivial spirit” in a bid to appeal to the area’s student population.
    Find out more about Suprette’s Toronto store ›
    Photo courtesy of HarmayHarmay Hangzhou, China, by AIM Architecture
    Shanghai studio AIM Architecture transformed the second floor of a business park in the Chinese city of Hangzhou into a cosmetics store resembling a 1970s office for Harmay.
    The brand’s perfumes and make-up products are displayed in rows of yellow desks, on phoney bookshelves and on boardroom tables hidden behind frosted-glass “meeting room” doors.
    Find out more about Harmay’s Hangzhou store ›
    Photo courtesy of FormoralFormoral Hangzhou, China, by Lialawlab
    This skincare store, also in Hangzhou, was designed for Formoral by interiors studio Lialawlab on a theme of retro-futurism – meaning the future as envisioned in the past.
    With its spherical gateway, limited palette and otherworldly lighting, the space was likened to a “desert planet” by Lialawlab’s chief designer, Liya Xing.
    Find out more about Formoral’s Hangzhou store ›
    Photo is by Ye Rin MokDreams, USA, by Adi Goodrich
    Spatial designer and artist Adi Goodrich filled the Dreams lifestyle store in Los Angeles’ Atwater Village with surrealist details such as a lobster phone that references a Salvador Dalí artwork.
    A large Klein-blue rock sculpture covered in non-reflective paint provides the focal point and adds to the interior’s dreamlike feel.
    Find about more about the Dreams store in Los Angeles ›
    Photo courtesy of KithKith Paris, France, by Snarkitecture
    New York-based design studio Snarkitecture created a flagship store for American streetwear brand Kith inside a 19th-century Parisian mansion.
    It added two ceiling installations made with casts of white Nike sneakers, one lining the barrel-vaulted ceiling at the shop’s entrance and the other arranged to replicate a teardrop chandelier.
    Find out more about Kith’s Paris store ›
    Photo is by InspaceToSummer Beijing, China, by F.O.G. Architecture
    With curved walls, mirrored surfaces and faux stone, this flagship store in Beijing for aromatherapy brand ToSummer was designed to be reminiscent of a cave.
    “We chose not to directly create the natural appearance of caves but, instead, present the characteristic elements of material textures to inspire the sensory experience,” explained Chinese studio F.O.G. Architecture, which created the space.
    Find out more about ToSummer’s Beijing store ›
    Photo courtesy of Forte ForteForte Forte, USA, by Forte Forte 
    Italian fashion label Forte Forte’s art director Robert Vattilana designed its Los Angeles boutique based on the “volumes and lines of Californian modernism”.
    The shop features light fixtures inspired by James Turrell artworks, a circular golden changing room and two giant stones taken from the Palm Springs desert balanced on top of one another in front of full-height muslin curtains.
    Find out more about Forte Forte’s Los Angeles store ›
    Photo courtesy of GlossierGlossier Seattle, USA
    Beauty brand Glossier is known for the playful, pastel-coloured interiors created by its in-house design team at its physical outlets.
    At the centre of this store in Seattle is a sculpture of a large boulder covered in moss and colourful mushrooms, surrounded by contrasting pale-pink furniture.
    Find out more about Glossier’s Seattle store ›

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