© QIANG SHEN
Light and shadow as the soul of a retail space
Anshuka was founded in 2010 on Nanshan Road, Hangzhou, next to the famous West Lake. It is named after the owner’s name “An”, meaning “kindness “. It is the first Western-style pastry store to bring semi-cooked cheese products into China, leading the domestic market, and it has been recognized by customers for nearly ten years.
Nanshan Road is familiar to people in Hangzhou, and the memory of the phoenix tree is always with peace. The fast pace of modern urban life makes it easy for people to ignore small tiny nice things around them. The designer hopes that Anshuka can make a space where people are willing to slow down and stay, to feel the life for a while, even if it is just for a cup of afternoon tea or for a dessert.
In the overall renovation of Anshuka, the designer transforms the original milky yellow simple wall into a dark facade, supplements by a golden frame, so that the whole building can echo to the surrounding environment and blend perfectly. He uses white and wood as the main tone to create a more natural bright feeling. In order to attract more attention and people, he makes the best use of the large arch-shaped floor windows to solve this problem appropriately. Whether at dusk or at night, the indoor activities reflect through the window have become a beautiful scenery on the street.
The arched glass that extends from the first floor to the second floor reflects the lush phoenix trees along the roadside. The entire building’s facade becomes alive covered with different coats as natural as it.
Throughout the design process, the designer uses simple materials to echo the pursuit of Anshuka in the ingredients. Therefore, he uses wood and metal materials in interior space. The ultimate goal of doing subtraction in interior space is to highlight the product’s presentation. When customers see the product on the shelf, the delicacy of the dessert is as well presented as expected.
The designer uses glass and skylights to conduct sunlight into the room. When it’s sunny, when customers are enjoying dessert in the store, they will be surprised to discover that the flowing lights and shadows have become the souls of the whole space; they come from passing pedestrians, street trees, bicycles, passing cars. These interlaced images often bring inadvertent excitement at different times.
Source: WJ DESIGN
