Chinese studio FOG Architecture has designed a flagship store for local fashion brand MSLAN in Quanzhou, China, creating a slow-paced experience by adding a series of gardens.
Located next to the Quanzhou Clock Tower, the corner unit on the ground floor was part of a former department store from the 1970s to the 1980s.
The existing space had a frontal side that included three bays of the building, but a very shallow depth. An important challenge of the project design was that the busy street, which suffers from a lot of traffic noise, opens directly into the space.
FOG Architecture responded by creating a series of gardens as buffers to help customers slow down when entering the store. The three bays naturally form three rooms inside the shop, each with a small garden.
At the two entrances, at the end of the shop front, the space recedes under the eaves to create a garden on each side.
Wooden benches and potted plants have been added to the landscaped garden, allowing people to pause before entering the store.
The entrance ceiling is deliberately kept low – just slightly higher than the door frames – in another attempt to create a barrier between the interior and the exterior.
When customers enter the space through the front garden, they are forced to lower their heads to get inside, before a spacious retail space with high ceilings and warm lighting is revealed.
The central room was designed as a courtyard inside the store, where customers are encouraged to relax and try on clothes.
Here, FOG Acrhitecture added a green garden, hoping to create an ideal relaxed environment surrounded by nature.
“Together, the buffers reduce the speed of the road,” explains FOG Architecture.
“As you walk through the space, the boundary between inside and outside keeps changing. The space feels open and porous, but it’s always tied to the place,” it continued.
In-store consumption followed a similar slow trend.
Building materials and images from Quanzhou traditional houses are adopted on the floor of the shopping areas, creating a familiar and intimate feeling.
The wall panels were wrapped in slightly translucent silicone, adding a warm texture.
In the central room, a rustic yellow stone covers the floor, and a washed composite wall extends from the outside to the inside. Old timbers recycled from demolished houses are turned into display items.
“In a few years the brick will wear, the wood will lighten, the silicone will gradually turn,” said the studio.
“A space like this, rooted in its street, is the kind that can last. The weather, it stays, and over time it becomes part of everyday life.”
FOG Architecture was founded by Zheng Yu and Zhan Di and has offices in Shanghai and Chongqing.
This studio recently designed a spa in Beijing with warm and relaxing interiors and a Shanghai cottage.
Photo by Wen Studio.
Project credits:
Building site:190m²
Design team:Zou Dejing, Shu Shi, Xiong Aijie, Li Junqing, Huang Yingzi, Zhang Yunchuan, Cao Xiaomao, Zhan Di, Zheng Yu