服装店丨中国上海

Architects:atelier tao+c

Area:225m²

Year:2024

Photographs:Wen Studio

Manufacturers:GUBI,Gyro,Muller van Severen,Norman,ziinlife

Design Team:Weilu Wang, Liyan Zhu

Construction Team:EMCC Shanghai construction

Lighting Consultant:ELA Shanghai

Structure Engineer:LuAn Lu Partners Structure Consulting

Graphic Design:age studio

City:Shanghai

Country:China

Text description provided by the architects. Design Statement. No. 1381-1 Yuyuan Road, stands set back 30 meters from the bustling main street, leaving a modest forecourt that separates it from the urban hustle. Home to Element - a fashion boutique in Shanghai that has attracted much attention in recent years, the modest three-story building is surrounded by rows of houses and commercial buildings, presenting only a front façade to passersby. It appears quiet and restraint amidst the lively neighborhood, whilst could be easily overlooked. Through meticulous observations of the urban interface and detailed investigations of the building's inherent qualities, Atelier tao+c has reimagined a community-oriented renovation of Element's store.

Extraction of Architectural Elements. The building, with its simple rectangular form and low ceilings, mirrors the utilitarian architecture of 1980s. Given the challenging economic climate, the design avoids radical transformation to the structure, opting instead for a budget-conscious, "self-renewing" regeneration.

The approach was to confront the banality of the building, observe and extract its common architectural elements. Previous modifications - steel beams, emergency exit doors, air conditioning units, and fire hydrants are highlighted through chromatic coding. Sealed windows are reopened and clad with operable metal shutters, reasserting the building's character while revealing its traces of time. The original rusty steel staircase is preserved and revealed, painted forest green, and refined with new railings. The original elements of the building are marked and emphasized.

The messy vitality and order. Within each floor's rigid shell, precisely controlled diagonal interventions formed with solid wood frames or metal sheds, break the monotony of the single form and strengthen the sense of instability of the space. The timber framework bypasses the green staircase, and concealing functional spaces - the changing room and storage room and cashier behind angular folds, while the front side presenting modular display systems. This system of adaptable racks and panels contrasts with the slender stainless steel clothes rods on the opposite wall.

Vertical circulation becomes a dynamic journey: the green staircase threads through cantilevered platforms, framing fragmented views across floors. Wooden frameworks act as permeable screens, revealing layered scenes of a combination of architectural elements with multiple materials and color markers, and the walking is full of dynamics.

Capturing Life in Urban Interstices. Around the buildings, houses and shops are intermingled; A jumble of laundry hangers, air conditioners and awnings protruding like architectural parasites, epitomizes Shanghai's idiosyncratic streetscape. The façade intervention responds to this urban collage. A steel exoskeleton climbs the exterior from the ground floor to the third floor, integrating doors, windows, and signage mounts, allowing maximum daylight and views. It supports awnings and a café counter, while functioning as a scaffold for seasonal banners—a contemporary nod to neighboring laundry poles, forms a recognizable facade feature, which blends into the residential buildings and reflects each other.

Internally generated program extends outward: the cafe counter spills beneath the awning to create outdoor seating flanking a pocket lawn. The treatment of internal space and urban Interstice space will affect the interaction between people and shops. The goal of the design is to transform the store into a space with a breath of life, while maintaining a quiet and ordinary state of the building to integrate and refresh the atmosphere of the neighborhood.

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