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Architects: C+ Architects
- Area: 205 m²
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:Zhi Xia, Jing Liu, Lost&Found
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Manufacturers: KSTE, Nippon, ZEN
Text description provided by the architects. As an attempt to expand the brand, the client Lost&Found decided to open its latest offline store in Chaoyang Hopson One Shopping Mall. C+ Architects has been entrusted with interior design work.
This store on the second basement floor of the mall covers an area of 205 square meters. The Lost&Found hopes it can continue its brand philosophy, and to make breakthrough in the multi-format retailing. Therefore, in addition to meeting basic functional needs, the architect also tries to find "past" building materials, hoping to create dialogue with the brand's furniture products through material practices and to awaken the emotion of cherishing good things.
The division and unification of space
Combined with the pre-existed columns near the corridor of the mall, the architect encloses a new space with continuous walls that includes relatively closed functional zones such as shop window, operation room, office and storage. The design is to realize the column-free display space, while naturally forming two entrances on both south and east sides.
A load-bearing wall divides the store into two spaces. The inside part featured Lost&Found furniture collection, and the outside part sells small pieces like tablewares and lifestyle goods. When customers enter the shop from south side, the open display table with plant decoration, window space and the wall of chairs can be seen at once. The east entrance is adjacent to the café area, to facilitate the diversion of the people with different demands.
After the space is defined, the two main sales spaces are unified through rows of arched ceilings. The intersection of the two arches combines smoke detectors, sprinkler system, air conditioning vents and spotlights, making the arches purer. Hidden LED on both sides of the arch illuminate the shops with diffuse light. The glowing arches highlight the sense of order of the ceiling and immerse the entire store in the soft atmosphere.
Quality and comfort for long-term use
The beauty of the interaction between time and objects is an important part of daily life, even the scale is enlarged to architecture. When determining the material of the new walls, following the "cherishing things" lifestyle advocated by the brand, the architect also referred to the element of "time". Because the store is in the basement, the materials needs to meet stringent requirements for fire protection, the practice of washed stone has become the most suitable choice eventually.
Nowadays, people familiar with this old-fashioned approach are getting fewer and fewer. The workers said it reminded them of the scene of a house built in their childhood. The washed stone wall is natural and unique, it appears more textured as the environment changes and traces of time can be clearly seen. This recyclable eco-friendly material also fits quite well with the wooden products in the store.
However, it is very challenging to get washed stone as the wall material in the mall. In general, the normal operation procedure is to embed stones in the wall, and then wash with plenty of water. But the site doesn’t have such water conditions. In order to achieve the desired result, workers adopted a similar prefabricated way. First of all, glue the mixed stones to the PVC mesh, then cover the walls with those pieces and fill the gap of the stones with cement, finally, wipe the walls clean. After the completion, the finished wall gives people a feeling of touching.
The architects chose warm color gravel mainly based on brown color. Hopefully, the new wall full of sense of volume will make the store stand out from the gray tone environment, and harmonize the color of the furniture inside the store at the same time.
Moreover, the signboard is made of profiled steel plate with hidden lights inside. The plates are welded and polished seamlessly and oxidized at last. Looking through the aisle, the slender steel plate looks like a ribbon surrounds the shop. The metal contrasts with washed stone walls and echoes the metal components in the furniture of the brand.
