Related News
Home » Feature » Art and Culture
British architects get playful in Xintiandi
By Li Anlan |
September 28, 2012, Friday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
SHOPPERS should take a close look at Xintiandi shop front displays over the National Holiday week, as they've been given a makeover by top British architects.
The 2012 Shanghai Windows Project @ Xintiandi, an artistic initiative from London, is brought to Shanghai by ShanghaiXintiandi, together with the Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Nine RIBA-approved British architecture studios were invited to create projects with nine brands under the theme "Play Your Style." The joint effort aims to blend British design with oriental fashion.
Angela Brady, president of RIBA, said that the project gives participating retailers a unique chance to work with British architects to reinvent their store fronts.
"Our architects can work at any scale to make places and spaces for people to enjoy. It is a chance for the retailer to engage their customers in a new way and to be part of a wider project that mixes retail with culture and shopping with exemplary design," Brady explained.
Dexter Moren of Dexter Moren Associates created a project for Japanese home furnishing store Francfranc based on the concept of the Mikado pick-up sticks game, aiming to tap into childhood nostalgia.
Located just outside the Francfranc shop at Xintiandi Style, shoppers can see some giant colored sticks leaning against the wall in an apparently random manner.
"The brief was to create something about playing," Moren explained. "So we made a super-sized version of Mikado."
In the traditional version of the game, players pick up the sticks of a designated color.
In Moren's version for Francfranc, the giant Mikado sticks have special lighting effects, making the project look very different by day and night.
To add oriental characteristics, Moren used Chinese bamboo in the project. He said it's important to incorporate local features when designing architectural works.
"We try to take a simple material and make it a little bit special so it has a different kind of realization," Moren said. "We design many hotels around the world and try to relate to the local context and local style and culture."
Inside and outside women's clothing store Nisiss are clear plastic tubes held in place by tensioned hemp ropes, together forming a piece entitled "The Cubic Amusement Park" by Studio Glowacka.
This is designed to reflect the simple and elegant features of Nisiss, with inspiration coming from rope climbing structures in playgrounds, explained AgnieszkaGlowacka, founder of Studio Glowacka.
The contrast between precise plastic and shaggy rope corresponds with contrasting details in Nisiss clothing, she said.
"We wanted it to be in keeping with the brand and at the same time create a contrast and be inspired by it," Glowacka added.
RIBA's Angela Brady said eye-catching and exciting are the key words when creating a window display.
"The aim is to create something that will surprise and engage shoppers and deliver something new in the retail environment, but that will still connect to the retailer's brand identity," she added.
She said that the project provided a great platform British architects to engage with the Shanghai public.
"The aim is to showcase the innovation of our British architects and to draw attention to participating shops, while providing a series of engaging exhibits around Xintiandi for members of the public," Brady said.
The displays run until October 11 and various activities are scheduled during the event,
The 2012 Shanghai Windows Project @ Xintiandi, an artistic initiative from London, is brought to Shanghai by ShanghaiXintiandi, together with the Cultural and Education Section of the British Consulate-General and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Nine RIBA-approved British architecture studios were invited to create projects with nine brands under the theme "Play Your Style." The joint effort aims to blend British design with oriental fashion.
Angela Brady, president of RIBA, said that the project gives participating retailers a unique chance to work with British architects to reinvent their store fronts.
"Our architects can work at any scale to make places and spaces for people to enjoy. It is a chance for the retailer to engage their customers in a new way and to be part of a wider project that mixes retail with culture and shopping with exemplary design," Brady explained.
Dexter Moren of Dexter Moren Associates created a project for Japanese home furnishing store Francfranc based on the concept of the Mikado pick-up sticks game, aiming to tap into childhood nostalgia.
Located just outside the Francfranc shop at Xintiandi Style, shoppers can see some giant colored sticks leaning against the wall in an apparently random manner.
"The brief was to create something about playing," Moren explained. "So we made a super-sized version of Mikado."
In the traditional version of the game, players pick up the sticks of a designated color.
In Moren's version for Francfranc, the giant Mikado sticks have special lighting effects, making the project look very different by day and night.
To add oriental characteristics, Moren used Chinese bamboo in the project. He said it's important to incorporate local features when designing architectural works.
"We try to take a simple material and make it a little bit special so it has a different kind of realization," Moren said. "We design many hotels around the world and try to relate to the local context and local style and culture."
Inside and outside women's clothing store Nisiss are clear plastic tubes held in place by tensioned hemp ropes, together forming a piece entitled "The Cubic Amusement Park" by Studio Glowacka.
This is designed to reflect the simple and elegant features of Nisiss, with inspiration coming from rope climbing structures in playgrounds, explained AgnieszkaGlowacka, founder of Studio Glowacka.
The contrast between precise plastic and shaggy rope corresponds with contrasting details in Nisiss clothing, she said.
"We wanted it to be in keeping with the brand and at the same time create a contrast and be inspired by it," Glowacka added.
RIBA's Angela Brady said eye-catching and exciting are the key words when creating a window display.
"The aim is to create something that will surprise and engage shoppers and deliver something new in the retail environment, but that will still connect to the retailer's brand identity," she added.
She said that the project provided a great platform British architects to engage with the Shanghai public.
"The aim is to showcase the innovation of our British architects and to draw attention to participating shops, while providing a series of engaging exhibits around Xintiandi for members of the public," Brady said.
The displays run until October 11 and various activities are scheduled during the event,
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
