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    Reflecting pool centres XC273 fashion boutique in former Shanghai towel factory

    Chinese studio Dongqi Design has turned a disused factory in Shanghai into a multi-brand fashion and lifestyle store, adding glossy marble and metal surfaces to offset its exposed concrete shell.

    Set across three floors, the XC273 retail space houses designer showrooms and pop-ups alongside a small cafe, as well as providing spaces for temporary exhibitions and events.
    Dongqi Design has turned a former factory into a fashion boutiqueFormerly a state-owned towel factory, the building had already been changed several times before the latest round of renovations.
    Dongqi Design strived to preserve and emphasise these different layers of history, which are contrasted against shiny new finishes to create a kind of “nostalgic futurism”.
    “All the differences of the space were kept as part of the building’s history so that people walking in could feel that the boundaries between the past and the present are blurred, as if they had walked into a timeless space,” the studio explained.

    The XC273 store houses a cafe alongside designer showrooms and pop-upsThe building is organised around three voids, which now form the basis of the store’s circulation routes.
    The largest of these voids consists of a double-height space at the core of the building, where Dongqi Design added a small reflecting pool surrounded by a collonade.
    Glossy surfaces are contrasted against the building’s raw concrete shellThe collonade’s raw concrete columns are left exposed where they face the pond, while their other three sides are wrapped with either marble, wood or metal.
    This approach is replicated across the store’s display fixtures to create a sense of spatial continuity. It can also be seen on the first floor, where new paving was added to enhance the existing geometric flooring.

    Offhand Practice designs second-hand bookshop in Shanghai to mimic greengrocer

    A sound tunnel that provides visitors with an experimental music experience was placed near the cafe on the ground floor.
    The second floor is accessed via a metal staircase, which is suspended above the reflecting pool and winds its way up through a small hole in the ceiling.
    A reflecting pool was installed at the core of the building”The key element connecting all the spaces is the stairs,” the studio explained.
    “The stairs are designed in their purest metallic form, further enhanced by the details of the balustrade where the fence becomes a simple element sliding into the structural beam at the bottom while having a profile on the top to allow visitors to grab the handrail comfortably.”
    Concrete paving was added to complement the geometric flooring on the first floorOn the second floor, Dongqi Design selected a bright white finish to emphasise the old wooden structure of the building’s pitched roof. A series of square windows let light into the space and offer views out across the city and toward the sky.
    To balance out the otherwise all-white interior, the VIP room is finished in a darker palette. During spring and summer, these darker shades also contrast with the colour of the trees outside.
    Dongqi Design gave the second floor a bright white finishXC273 has been shortlisted in the large retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
    Other projects in the running include a second-hand bookshop in Shanghai that uses supermarket-style crates to display its wares and a reusable sales showroom with fabric walls.
    The photography is by Raitt Liu.

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    Fabric arches divide Jonathan Simkhai store in SoHo by Aruliden

    Design agency Aruliden has created a retail space for fashion brand Jonathan Simkhai in New York City, translating cut-out shapes from its clothing into architectural partitions and furniture.

    For New York-based womenswear brand Jonathan Simkhai, Aruliden designed a temporary installation within the space on Mercer Street in SoHo – a prime shopping area in Lower Manhattan.
    A series of metal structures wrapped in translucent fabric divide the Jonathan Simkhai storeThe geometric shapes and signature cut-outs of the brand’s clothing were translated into a variety of spatial interventions and furniture pieces, creating a store in which the brand can present new collections and host events.
    “Translating Simkhai’s identity into a vision for a spatial environment required a clear and strategic idea that was not just shoppable, but also memorable and visually iconic,” said Aruliden’s senior director of industrial design Erik Kreider.
    “We wanted visitors to be fully immersed in this world, but at the end of the day it was also important that we celebrated and showcased the products the right way.”

    The fabric partitions are installed to fit around existing architectural elementsTowards the front of the building, a double-height space is painted entirely white and further brightened by the glass facade.
    This long, narrow room is divided by a series of tall structures, comprising translucent fabric stretched over metal frames.
    Mannequins flank a staircase that leads to the store’s lower levelFitted around existing architectural elements, the temporary walls wrapped in white, peach and pink fabric are punctured with archways that curve asymmetrically at the top, forming a passage from one end of the store to the other.
    Shoppers are led through the archways and down a flight of stairs, flanked by mannequins positioned on larger steps along one side.
    Units of a flexible display system are shaped similarly to the arched openings in the partitionsOn the lower level, where the ceiling height is considerably lower, podiums for displaying products and decorative accessories are shaped similarly to the archway cut-outs.
    At various sizes and heights, these beige-toned units form a flexible display system that can be moved around when needed.

    AMO cocoons Jacquemus store in pillows to create “bedroom-like” interior

    “Clothing and products break the cadence of the fabric arches,” said Kreider.
    “Together with the graphic cutouts, this creates a natural flow to the back area where more products, seating and changing rooms are located,
    The archways, furniture and podiums are based on the cut-out shapes of Jonathan Simkhai’s clothingThroughout the store, garments are presented on identical sets of hangers along minimal white rails.
    The minimalist interior is also enlivened by simple floral displays, presented in a variety of crafted vases.
    The minimalist interior is enlivened with simple floral decorationsAruliden, which was founded in 2006 by Rinat Aruh and Johan Liden, is headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco and Amsterdam.
    The agency has several products shortlisted for this year’s Dezeen Awards, including the Whoop 4.0 fitness wearable and the Series One Desk 27 video-conferencing device. It has also designed a series of mirrored structures to be built in a forest in Ontario, Canada.
    The photography is by Sharon Radisch.

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    Offhand Practice designs second-hand bookshop in Shanghai to mimic greengrocer

    Used books are displayed in supermarket-style crates at the Deja Vu Recycle Store in Shanghai, which local studio Offhand Practice has designed to counter the “shabby” image associated with second-hand shops.

    The store, which also carries pre-owned fashion, is located on the first and second floor of a three-storey building on Shanghai’s buzzy Anfu Road.
    The Deja Vu Recycle Store is located in Shanghai’s Anfu RoadOn the interior, Chinese architecture studio Offhand Practice hoped to create a relaxed shopping environment despite the large number of goods on offer, which includes more than 2,000 pieces of clothing.
    With this aim, the studio set out to mimic the experience of going to a greengrocer by displaying clothes and books on shelves typically used to hold fruits and vegetables, while giving all products equal prominence regardless of price.
    A long gallery-like corridor leads to the staircase for the first floor”Picking up books in the way of picking up vegetables and fruits gives a feeling of enriching the spiritual basket,” Offhand Practice explained.

    On the ground floor, the studio recessed the building’s entrance and framed it in cream-coloured mosaic tiles to create a small shelter while making the towering facade feel more welcoming.
    Second-hand books are displayed in supermarket-style cratesOne of the main challenges for the studio was to encourage passersby to walk through the building’s ground floor – consisting of a long corridor bookended with space for mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) equipment– and climb the stairs to reach the Deja Vu Recycle Store.
    This was achieved by turning the corridor into a kind of gallery, showcasing the process of refurbishing second-hand goods.
    “Taking advantage of the narrowness, we identified spatial depth through layers of opening,” the studio explained.

    AMO cocoons Jacquemus store in pillows to create “bedroom-like” interior

    Books are displayed on the building’s first floor and clothing on the second. Both levels have an open-plan layout with circulation routes defined by shelving and clothes rails.
    Mosaic tiles made from stone off-cuts were used to form decorative wainscoting in the same creamy beige colour as the facade, which channels 1970s Shanghai interiors.
    Contrasting green tiles were used to frame the generous window openings revealed during the building’s renovation, and to form integrated window seats.
    Green mosaic tiles were used to frame the building’s windowsNatural pine was used to form the cashier counter, shelves and book crates to add a sense of warmth to the interior.
    Offhand Practice said it designed the store to break with negative preconceptions around second-hand stores being “dull, disorganised and piled with shabby objects”.
    “Deja Vu Recycle Store breaks the stereotypical image of a second-hand store and erases the ritualistic impression of a traditional bookstore full of full-height bookshelves,” the studio said.
    The tiles were also used to emphasise arches and other architectural detailsThe store was recently been shortlisted for large retail interior of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
    Other projects in the running include a surrealist pop-up shop designed by Random Studio for fashion brand Jacquemus and a concept store that Schemata Architects has created for an outdoor brand in South Korea.
    The photography is by Hu Yanyun.

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    AMO cocoons Jacquemus store in pillows to create “bedroom-like” interior

    Dutch studio AMO has used pillows to form the display stands and line the walls in this tactile womenswear boutique by fashion brand Jacquemus in Paris, France.

    The 60-square-metre shop, set in the department store Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, was designed to feel like a bedroom according to AMO, which is the research and design arm of architecture firm OMA.
    AMO has lined a Jacquemus store with large cream-coloured pillows”The location of the shop within the Galleries Lafayette – without windows or daylight – led to the idea of creating a bedroom-like environment: a room entirely made of pillows,” said OMA partner Ellen van Loon.
    “It is a cocooning and relaxed atmosphere, inviting customers to lounge and browse for as long as they want,” she told Dezeen.
    The store is designed to feel like a bedroomThe linen pillows were designed to reference the textiles of Provence, where Jacquemus founder Simon Porte Jacquemus grew up.

    “We explored a material palette that aims to capture the atmosphere of Provence,” said OMA architect Giulio Margheri.
    “The fabric of the pillows is a reference to the linens of the South of France,” he told Dezeen.
    Linen pillows reference the textiles of ProvenceAMO also added a stack of pillows to serve as a seating area for shoppers, as well as a spot to showcase Jacquemus’ signature tiny bags.
    The studio completed the store’s easy-going atmosphere with the help of a stripped-back scheme, including cream-coloured carpet, soft lighting and clothing rails in a milky beige hue.

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    AMO previously designed another store for Jacquemus inside the London department store Selfridges. Much like the brand’s Paris outpost, the shop was wrapped entirely in a single material – clay.
    “The design of the Jacquemus boutiques in London and Paris began with the idea of testing the limits of working with a single material,” Van Loon explained.
    “Instead of working on the design first and deciding on the materials afterwards, we let the materials dictate their presence in the space.”
    Changing rooms are coloured in the same creamy hueThe Jacquemus store is one of many retail interiors AMO has designed in Paris.
    Among them is a pop-up shop by Tiffany & Co that showcases an array of jewellery pieces and a flagship store for clothing brand Off-White that features abstract interpretations of Parisian courtyards and flea markets.
    Project creditsPartner: Ellen van LoonArchitect: Giulio MargheriTeam: Valerio Di Festa, Camille Filbien and Mattia Locci
    The photography is by Benoit Florençon, courtesy of AMO.

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    Universal Design Studio models Biotherm's Monaco concept store on a laboratory

    The visual language of scientific laboratories informed the look of this blue-lit concept store in Monaco, which London firm Universal Design Studio has devised for skincare brand Biotherm.

    Set inside Monaco’s historic Oceanographic Institute, Blue Beauty Lab is where buyers and other industry insiders can come to expand their knowledge of the science underpinning Biotherm’s skincare line.
    Visitors enter the Blue Beauty Lab via a circular doorwayAlthough the 30-square-metre concept store showcases a selection of the brand’s products, none of them are for sale. Instead, visitors can fully immerse themselves in the experience of being in the “lab”.
    “Brands are increasingly looking to physical presence for means above and beyond selling products,” explained Satoshi Isono, creative director at Universal Design Studio.
    “They’re harnessing spaces to storytell their core brand messaging in unique ways and ultimately connect with customers in a more impactful way.”

    The first section of the store is set up like a science labAs the outer walls of Blue Beauty Lab back onto water tanks harbouring various aquatic creatures, Universal Design Studio had to keep architectural interventions to a minimum. As a result, the store’s floor plan is fairly simple.
    To enter, visitors walk through a circular doorway and a short mirrored tunnel. The interior is washed in sea-blue light and split into two parts.
    Steel worktops and petri dishes add to the lab-like feel of the spaceThe first is an area reminiscent of a research lab that gives an insight into the production process of Life Plankton – an extract containing 35 different nutrients that Biotherm incorporates throughout some of its moisturisers, serums and skin peels.
    Stainless steel counters and glass shelving units run down the sides of the space, dotted with science paraphernalia like microscopes, petri dishes, test tubes and measuring flasks.

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    A small workshop forms the second part of the store, centred by a round table. Directly above is a large ring light emitting a bright white glow that enhances the lab-like feel of the space.
    Interactive visuals produced by multimedia design studios Superbien and AC3 Studio are projected on the surrounding walls.
    Measuring flasks and test tubes are also displayed on the shelvesThe clinical aesthetic of laboratories has also inspired a number of other interiors.
    Among them is a bike shop in Copenhagen by local designer Johannes Torpe and a cafe in Tokyo with a white-lacquered steel ceiling grid.

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    Bernard Dubois incorporates nightclub references into Courrèges' Paris store

    Thick carpets, mirrored panels and fabric-covered walls populate this clothing store in Paris designed by Belgian architect Bernard Dubois.

    The 232-square-metre boutique is located near the Champs-Élysées and belongs to Courrèges – a Parisian label that was launched by fashion designer André Courrèges in 1961.
    Courrèges’ second store in Paris was designed by Bernard DuboisOptimistic and full of energy, the late designer’s creations placed emphasis on structured lines and featured a predominantly white colour palette.
    For the brand’s flagship store, Courrèges’ artistic director Nicolas Di Felice asked Dubois to create an interior that blends this distinctive visual language with subtle references to nightclubs.
    Its interior is lined in fabric and thick carpetThe result is a monochrome space with fabric-lined walls and ceilings, thick carpets and rows of mirrors that are set at an angle in a nod to the perspective-bending decor often found in nightlife venues.

    “White has always been part of the Courrèges universe,” Dubois told Dezeen. “We decided to embrace this and make it our own, by making it warm, intimate, silent, plush.”
    Other references to the brand’s history include shelves and cabinets that were part of a store interior designed by Courrèges in 1967 before being redesigned to match the proportions of the new store.
    Upside-down arches frame the way to the changing roomsCurved U-shaped elements resembling upside-down arches feature alongside the mirrors towards the back of the store in a homage to classical architecture and space travel.
    “I always like to play with classical elements of architecture in my projects, sometimes placing them in different contexts, at different scales than their usual size or context,” Dubois said.

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    “In this case, placing them upside-down is also a reference to spaceships, where the absence of gravity naturally places things upside down and creates different structural constraints,” he added.
    In some areas of the Courrèges store, Dubois deliberately exposed the raw concrete walls, creating a contrast with the softness of the fabric and the carpet.
    The interior is rendered almost entirely in beigeThe mirrored panels were added to provide perspective and direct the eye to the dressing rooms at the back of the store.
    “I always like to structure spaces,” Dubois explained, “give them some depth, play with perspectives, create relationships between different shapes of spaces, giving the impression that the visitor enters into a coherent world.”
    Only clothing displays provide a colourful contrastThe store is the larger of two Courrèges outposts in Paris. The other store in the Marais neighbourhood was also designed by Dubois.
    Bernard Dubois set up his eponymous firm in 2014 after graduating as an architect from La Cambre in Brussels in 2009. Other projects from the studio include a store for Aesop featuring distinctive yellow bricks and a narrow “runway-like” sneaker store for APL.
    The photography is by Romain Laprade.

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    Victorian balusters pattern surfaces at Aesop Yorkville store by Odami

    The history of Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood informed this store for skincare brand Aesop, which local studio Odami has given ruby-toned walls and smooth beige counters.

    Odami, a design studio based several blocks west of the Aesop Yorkville shop, used features typical of the area as a starting point for elements of the design.
    Aesop’s third store in Toronto includes a “fragrance library” for testing the brand’s new aromas”The interior takes inspiration from the downtown area’s architectural and societal history – starting with the Victorian houses that populate the district, and the lanes and squares where communities have gathered over the decades,” said a statement from the brand.
    The profile of balusters found across nearby buildings and porches is translated as a closely repeated pattern that forms maple wainscoting around the interior.
    The profile of a Victorian baluster forms wainscoting around the storeWalls and ceiling are painted oxblood red, creating a dusky and intimate atmosphere inside the compact space.

    “The design is anchored by a sense of warmth, and sees traditional materials imagined anew,” said Aesop. “The geometry is akin to that of a bustling town square: a large and open space with smaller enclaves around its perimeter.”
    Walls, ceilings and furniture are coloured ruby red, while counters and sinks are beigeSeating and counters that are coloured to match the walls blend into the background, while units that have sinks for testing skin and hair products stand out in pale beige.
    The largest basin is positioned in the centre of the store, incorporating three faucets and doubling as a tea station.
    The wall colour creates an intimate atmosphere, while allowing the signature Aesop bottles to stand outA slender, metal light fixture is suspended horizontally above, directing light from a trio of tubes down onto the central counter.
    Three pale-toned cylinders set into the back wall form a “fragrance library” for the brand’s growing collection of aromas.

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    Two tubes display the signature Aesop bottles, while the third has a clear front and acts as an infusion chamber for items of clothing.
    Odami was founded in 2017 by Spanish architect Aránzazu González Bernardo and Canadian designer Michael Fohring, and has completed several interiors in its base city.
    The central countertop includes a long sink and also doubles as a tea stationThey include the Sara restaurant, where a roughly plastered wall curves over the dining area, and a renovated 1980s apartment with a green-painted sunroom.
    This is the third Aesop location in Toronto, following a store designed by MSDS on Queen Street West, and another in the Downtown district.
    The history of the store’s Yorkville location provided references for its designThe brand regularly collaborates with local architects and designers on its store interiors around the world.
    Among the most recent are an outpost in Tokyo by Case-Real that features coarse plaster walls, and another in London by Al-Jawad Pike that’s filled with red sandstone from Scotland.
    The photography is by John Alunan

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    Masquespacio designs “metaverse world” for Mango Teen store

    Spanish design agency Masquespacio has created the interior of the first Mango Teen shop in Barcelona, which was informed by the metaverse and aims to provide an interactive and dream-like shopping experience.

    Designed for customers aged 11 to 13, Masquespacio used graphic shapes to outline clothing displays and a colour palette of oranges and greens for the fashion shop interior.
    The shop interior is divided into two sections by the use of green and orange colours”The new Mango Teen store is established as a world of dreams with its different perspectives and different incoherent elements, just like when we are dreaming,” said Masquespacio.
    “In this place, the dreams are made reality through the design elements that play with your mind and invite the user to interact with the objects surrounding them, bringing the metaverse world to reality.”
    A swimming pool-style step ladder is used to display clothingMasquespacio created the design elements in the shop interior to showcase as much clothing as possible, while also functioning as attraction points that provide a unique shopping experience.

    At the entrance is a “futuristic” arched tunnel with strip lighting designed to guide customers inside. Shelving displays on the shop floor feature tiled surfaces and metal step ladders that mimic swimming pools.
    Masquespacio designed an arched tunnel with strip lightingThe shop front and interior are divided by a bold colour choice of green and orange.
    “At the initial point, we chose a lighter and more pinkish palette, but as this is getting a bit outdated, we decided to play with two colours that are not so explored and combined them,” Masquespacio co-founder Christophe Penasse told Dezeen.

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    The order counter was designed to be reminiscent of a hotel reception and the store also features a clothes-recycling drop-off point that looks like a washing machine, which releases bubbles when customers open the door.
    The futuristic tunnel, swimming pool, hotel reception and washing machine elements are intended by the studio to “invite the teens to enter a universe in which a new use is given to the objects, giving them the opportunity to let their imagination flow and use the space how they dream about it.”
    The changing rooms are designed for TikTok-loving teens”We searched to convert the design elements to an attraction point for the teens’ TikTok life, but at the same time create them as elements that have a function, such as an order bar or an exhibition point like the swimming pool and tunnel,” Penasse said.
    The shop’s changing rooms further encourage interaction with the digital world. Integrated phone holders and ring lights make it easy for customers to take photos for social media, while the reflective walls and ceiling create a futuristic backdrop.
    Masquespacio created functional elements to appear like other objects, including a recycling point that looks like a washing machineAs the first Mango Teen shop to open in Barcelona, Masquespacio’s design aims to create a distinct brand identity.
    The fashion brand had previously launched pop-up shops, from which they identified colourful interiors and places to take photos and videos as main points of interest for teenage shoppers.
    Other projects by the studio include a burger joint designed to look like a swimming pool and a greek restaurant informed by ancient ruins.
    The photography is by Luis Beltran.

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