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      Terrazzo and bronze staircase forms focal point of The Sukhothai hotel by Neri&Hu

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      A dramatic staircase connects floors inside this Shanghai hotel, which Neri&Hu has designed with calming, nature-inspired rooms.The staircase can be found in the entrance lobby of The Sukhothai hotel, which is situated in Shanghai’s Jing’an district.

      A huge staircase is the focal point of The Sukhothai’s lobby. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      It features a bronze balustrade and a staggered sequence of slim, grey-terrazzo steps that have been slightly set apart to create the illusion that they’re hovering.
      The entire structure is then enclosed by a gridded timber framework that “envelops” guests as they ascend to the first floor.

      Bronze has been used to make the balustrade, while the steps are grey terrazzo

      In the communal areas that lie beyond the staircase, Neri&Hu has fashioned an aesthetic that subtly celebrates the culture of both Shanghai and Bangkok – where the inaugural branch of The Sukhothai is located.
      “The challenge for Sukhothai in Shanghai was how to remain true to the spirit of the original iconic hotel in Bangkok while bringing in elements that represent the local culture and history,” the studio explained.

      Green hues reference nature and gardens. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      “In the end, our guiding concept was inspired by a universal condition that defines many dense Asian metropolises such as Shanghai and Bangkok — the sense of fragility and congestion and the desire for a reconnection with nature, for room to breathe and rejuvenate,” it continued.
      “We created an urban oasis in the midst of the concrete jungle of the city, so every aspect of the hotel relates to nature.”

      The hotel’s swimming pool is also lined with green tiles. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      Gardens became the main point of reference for the studio. For example, a network of columns has been installed in the restaurant as a nod to the ornate pillars that typically appear in Italian renaissance-style gardens.
      The forest-green leather chairs that surround the dining tables and the emerald-coloured tiles that line the open kitchen are also meant to evoke lush, verdant settings.

      Neri&Hu keeps time-worn details in Parisian restaurant Papi

      A medley of green tiles has also been applied mosaic-style to the hotel’s swimming pool.

      Natural materials are spotlighted in the bedrooms. Photo is by Pedro Pegenaute
      Neri&Hu have continued to use green tones and natural materials upstairs in the 201 guest bedrooms. Walls have been painted a tranquil jade hue, while the floor, headboards and writing desks are lined with wood.
      Pebble-grey Carrara marble has been used to line almost every surface in the bathrooms – including the tubs.

      Grey marble lines surfaces in the bathrooms
      A number of hotels have opened in China this year. Among them is the Intercontinental in Chongqing and Read and Rest Hotel in Beijing, which includes a small library filled with print magazines from across the world.
      For those looking to stay a bit more off the beaten track, Wiki World and Advanced Architecture Lab have also created a collection of 18 mirrored guest cabins on the forested mountainsides of Yichang in China’s Hubei province.
      Photography is by Xia Zhi unless stated otherwise.

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      KCC Design creates monochrome office for own studio in former factory space

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      KCC Design has completed the interior design for its own office in Shanghai, which features an exhibition space and 21 enclosed boxes for individual work in a subdued colour palette.The studio, which works in architecture and interior design as well as wayfinding, regional planning and lighting design, created the office in an old factory building that has been converted into office space.
      KCC Design designed its new office, which has been shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2020 in the large workspace interior category, to make a move away from open-plan working.

      Top: the KCC Office reception area. Above: the ground floor is taken up by an exhibition space
      “The most important thing is that we have been working in an open office working environment so far,” KCC Design principal and design director Marco De La Torre told Dezeen.

      “We thought it is problematic because more and more people no longer want this kind of working environment but a living environment,” he added.
      “After all, as a design company, we spend a longer time at the office, so we need to re-think how an office should be.”

      The studio wanted the office to be a “living environment”
      Though the studio was working from home in February due to the coronavirus pandemic, life in Shanghai returned to a sense of normalcy after March, De La Torre said, enabling it to come back to the office.
      “We are wearing masks for public transportation and public venues like cinemas, all other activities have returned to normality,” De La Torre said.

      On the first floor, 21 boxes function as more private workspaces
      The studio discussed how to combine ideas of “individual and independent thinking” with “collective and cooperation creating” for the design of its office.
      The solution was to divide the space into separate uses for separate floors. The ground floor of the office is the studio’s public area, which it calls its “living space”.
      This floor has meeting rooms and tea rooms for client meetings, as well as an exhibition space that can also host events.

      White and grey were the only colours used for the interior
      Upstairs on the first floor, the core office area has 21 enclosed boxes that are used as the studio’s main workspaces. They are designed to function as private work areas where team members can also feel at home.
      “This office design is for the people to feel ‘living’ here, not only as work display,” De La Torre said.

      Old nylon factory converted into “cathedral-like” office space

      KCC Design worked with a limited material and colour palette when designing the space. When it came to colour, the studio kept its office mainly white and grey, and said the reason behind its colour and material choices was simple.
      “Concrete and paint are the only two materials,” said De La Torre. “The reason for choosing such materials is their extreme plasticity. These inert materials also symbolise human wisdom and technology.”

      The office entrance features geometric shapes
      “They have no personality,” De La Torre explained. “As dead as an inorganic substance. This extreme quietness is what we need most in a noisy urban environment and an impetuous work environment.”
      “Of course, the white of the whole wall also has the meaning of white paper to the designer,” he added. “It represents the birth can be anything.”
      Describing interior and architectural design as a poetic, logical system, De La Torre said artificial space should be respected as an artefact.
      “Therefore, the space poetry of this office space is ‘we living here instead of working here now’,” he said. “And the logical principle of our interior is a ‘fluid and continuous public space’ and a ‘solid and independent private space’.”
      Many former factory spaces and warehouses have been turned into offices, including an old nylon factory in Arnhem that is now a “cathedral-like office space and a heritage building in Mumbai.

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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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      Shanghai studio Arizon's interiors facilitate “surprising spatial experiences”

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      VDF studio profiles: Shanghai design studio Arizon specialises in the planning and interior design of retail spaces, from boutique department stores to shopping malls.The studio was founded in 2008 by Junwei Shen. Over the course of his career, the designer witnessed the rapid evolution of Chinese commerce from standalone shops to giant malls, which is why he prides himself in creating interiors that are able to adapt to the evolving needs of different businesses.
      “We exploit the aesthetic and business potential of architecture to the full,” he explained.
      “Through avant-garde artistic approaches and an awareness of ecology, we hope to create ineffably inspiring and surprising spatial experiences that help our clients to grow their businesses.”

      The Fortune Bridge features arched recesses to create functional spaces within a walkway
      The studio often makes use of natural lighting and geometric lines in its projects, and uses blank spaces strategically.

      This can be seen in its design for the Fortune Bridge – a pedestrian walkway leading to the Vita Rive Gauche shopping boulevard in the town of Zhengzhou.
      By adding arched recesses to either side of a central footpath, Arizon was able to turn this simple thoroughfare into a multi-functional space that can play host to cultural and culinary events, and house further retail units.

      Stain glass windows feature in the Vita Green community mall
      Elsewhere in Zhengzhou, the studio was also responsible for Block B of the Vita Green community mall, which Shen describes as a “feast of light and shade”.
      “The facade is clad in wire mesh and sunlight enters the interior from different directions through stained glass windows,” he added. “This creates an amazing play of shadows that breathes life into the whole mall.”
      Another of Arizon’s retail projects is situated in Dezhou and celebrates the city’s rich history as a trading port – a virtue of its proximity to the Wei River.
      This legacy is visualised in the Inzone mall through a system of ceiling baffles, which jut out to create the impression of being underwater and looking up at the hull of a boat as it cuts through the surface.

      The ceiling fins of Inzone mall are shaped like the hull of a boat
      Similarly, the studio clad the entryway of the Kids World in Shanghai’s Joy City mall with a gradient of rainbow-coloured tubes, designed to resemble the stems of fantastical flowers breaking through soil.
      Faced with the challenge of consolidating three different, staggered ceiling heights, Arizon introduced a system of undulating shapes throughout the space, replicating the silhouette of gently rolling hills.
      The project earned Arizon a German iF Design Award for interior architecture this year.

      Multicoloured tubes cover the walls and ceiling of Joy City’s Kids World
      Studio: ArizonWebsite: arizon.com.cnContact address: info@arizon.com.cn
      About Virtual Design Festival
      Virtual Design Festival is the world’s first online design festival, taking place from 15 April to 30 June. For more information, or to be added to the mailing list, contact us at vdf@dezeen.com.
      A studio profile on Virtual Design Festival could expose your work to Dezeen’s three million monthly website visitors. Each studio profile will be featured on the VDF homepage and included in Dezeen’s daily newsletter, which has 170,000 subscribers.

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      Shanghai’s Canal St shop is styled like the New York subway

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      A subway car-style corridor, worn concrete walls and metal railings feature inside this Shanghai clothing shop, which Sò Studio has designed to emulate New York. Canal St offers a selection of high-end streetwear and was designed by locally-based Sò Studio to “bring the downtown New York lifestyle to Shanghai”. The studio believes the two major […] More