Architectural Cases

In a groundbreaking move for retail environments, SHISUO Design Office has created a distinctive showroom for YEARLY PLAN in Shanghai, transforming an unconventional space into a seamless fusion of fashion, architecture, and artistic expression. The design centers around an impressive, almost 100-meter-long continuous steel rail, meticulously crafted to navigate the existing structural elements of the building, providing a fluid and dynamic pathway for garment displays.

SHISUO Design Office Redefines Retail Aesthetics in Shanghai

In the vibrant city of Shanghai, on Yongyuan Road, SHISUO Design Office, led by Sanif, Changshan, Zhang Yichi, and Lin Zihan, embarked on a transformative project for the YEARLY PLAN showroom. Faced with an irregularly shaped interior, the design team ingeniously conceived a single, continuous hanging rail, stretching approximately 100 meters. This innovative rail acts as both the primary exhibition system for clothing and a fundamental element dictating the spatial flow. It gracefully adapts to the building's inherent features, such as walls, columns, and utilities, bending, rising, and shifting to circumvent obstructions. This serpentine line delineates the boundaries and interior conditions, effectively converting the site's irregularities into a captivating, active sequence. By suspending the rail above the ground, the designers maximized display area while simultaneously guiding foot traffic and maintaining visual cohesion throughout the space. Complementing this aerial framework are a series of striking concrete display stands. These sculptural pieces, inspired by the work of artist Eduardo Chillida, are assembled from cast-in-place modules, emphasizing weight, material integrity, and a sense of gravity. Their deliberately preserved rough textures and natural imperfections serve as grounded focal points within the showroom. The interplay between the robust concrete forms and the delicate, suspended rail creates a compelling material and structural contrast. This tension is further softened by hand-dyed white timber slats forming a subtle backdrop, ensuring the garments and main design components remain central. Integrated stainless steel mirrors, segmented into geometric facets, offer fractured reflections that add a temporal and dynamic dimension to the otherwise controlled spatial arrangement. This thoughtful integration of custom-designed architectural and furniture elements eschews conventional retail fixtures, establishing a unique identity that merges fashion presentation with architectural principles and contemporary art practices.

This innovative design approach offers a fresh perspective on how retail spaces can transcend mere commercial functionality to become immersive architectural experiences. The YEARLY PLAN showroom inspires a rethinking of environmental design, demonstrating that constraints can ignite creativity and lead to profoundly artistic and functional outcomes. It encourages designers to integrate site-specific challenges into the core of their solutions, fostering a holistic environment where every element contributes to a cohesive narrative.

Aptdotapt's Café On-Site, known locally as Kai-Chang, emerges as a vibrant community focal point within a bustling town in Zhejiang, China. This establishment transcends the traditional cafe model, delving into the intricate ways energy flows through its spaces, the individuals within them, and their daily activities. A meticulously crafted geometric vocabulary, comprising sweeping curves, metallic circular accents, distinctive four-point star racks, and inverted triangular lighting, seamlessly connects the café's visual identity with its architectural framework. These recurring elements, varying in scale and material, forge a cohesive design narrative that bridges two-dimensional graphics with a rich, three-dimensional sensory journey.

Situated in a lively commercial zone, the café’s front and rear exteriors present stark contrasts. The main facade, confronting a bustling barbecue eatery, navigates a visually and environmentally challenging setting. Instead of conventional transparent windows or overt signage, the designers ingeniously employed five hollow semi-cylindrical forms to create a permeable, rhythmic frontage. This design not only establishes a unique identity but also ingeniously mitigates external noise, smoke, and visual chaos. Integrated horizontal surfaces at human height offer inviting spots for patrons to lean or sit. As evening falls, soft light emanating from the curved crevices provides tantalizing glimpses of the lively interior. Conversely, the rear facade embraces an adjacent park, seamlessly blending indoor and outdoor realms. Retractable elements allow furniture to extend into the natural landscape, effortlessly transforming the enclosed space into an expansive outdoor social arena.

The conceptualization of this project was a holistic endeavor, encompassing everything from brand strategy and nomenclature to visual identity and interior aesthetics. The Chinese designation, Kai-Chang, carries profound significance, evoking the inception of a performance, the theatrical staging of a scene, and the very essence of a location or environment, extending to its atmospheric and spiritual qualities. Its phonetic resonance with the character for 'factory' subtly acknowledges Wenzhou's entrepreneurial spirit and its industrial heritage. The English counterpart, On-Site, reinforces the emphasis on immediate presence and local context, firmly embedding the café within its surrounding social and urban fabric.

The interior layout eschews a straightforward linear progression, instead introducing subtle rotational shifts across its primary sections. These strategic angular adjustments, complemented by four distinct column designs, guide movement and sightlines while disrupting spatial monotony. This approach generates an interplay of expansive and intimate zones, encouraging patrons to move, pause, and engage in impromptu social interactions. Guests can either gravitate towards more open communal areas or seek refuge in secluded nooks, facilitating a multitude of social scenarios concurrently. This spatial dynamism forms the foundational layer through which the café's underlying concept of circulating energy becomes palpable.

The notion of spatial energy is further brought to life through various integrated mechanical features. The entrance itself becomes a theatrical experience, as a gracefully curved door glides along a recessed circular track. Behind the service counter, baristas efficiently utilize grooves to dispatch beverages through a takeaway window. A centrally placed table, adorned with a planter, anchors the space, while a red curtain at the far end offers guests the flexibility to define photographic backdrops or create temporary enclosures. A unique four-point star display unit allows staff to effortlessly present seasonal pastries to customers. On pleasant days, tables effortlessly slide along embedded tracks, extending the coffee-drinking ritual into the outdoors. These thoughtfully designed mechanisms transform routine actions into engaging spatial events, allowing the concept of energy to be experienced through direct use rather than mere symbolism.

At its core, Aptdotapt's Café On-Site reimagines the traditional café as a dynamic nexus of design, community, and sensory engagement. Through its innovative architectural solutions, culturally resonant branding, and interactive interior elements, the café offers a unique and memorable experience that celebrates both its immediate surroundings and the circulating energy of human connection.