Regarded as one of China’s finest architecture and design practices, Neri&Hu (Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu) were asked to reinvent a building in Qingpu, a town on the outskirts of Shanghai. Home to Design Collective, a group of design-led contemporary Shanghai retailers, Neri&Hu wrapped the existing building in an opaque graphic carbon fiber panel, and brought together the three-storey exhibition space with a mind-warping staircase, jutting and strutting its way from the ground floor upwards.
The duo’s own furniture brand Design Republic take up residency on the first floor, whilst throughout the space, the strong open-plan aesthetic suggests ‘grand art gallery’ more than it does traditional retail outlet. It’s a staggering space, on a staggering scale, and one in which you could be “just browsing” for some time…
Photography, Shen Zhonghai
