3gatti architecture combines disks + bars to form forest-like store in shanghai

3gatti architecture combines disks + bars to form forest-like store in shanghai
all images © daniele mattioli

3gatti architecture has created out of two perfectly combined elements, a flawless functioning store in shanghai. the main idea was to arrange dense areas of vertical steel bars to define the space and the aesthetics: an abstract forest-like room. thanks to the vertical bars it was possible to fix disc-shaped fiberglass elements all around the shop generating surfaces to display the bags and shoes. some larger circular objects were secured closer to the floor serving as a seating area. as for the dresses, elongated pieces of the same material were placed horizontally so that they could be hanged from there.

the lower discs serve as a seating area and support when trying on shoes

to increase the contrast of the vertical lines and make its perception more powerful, barrisol light walls were added all around the shop. this type of lighting not only diffuses uniformly the light, but gives an impression of the bars eroding from the floor and reaching the ceiling thanks to the shadows.

the barrisol luminescent wall creates a uniform diffusion of the light

the simplicity and minimalism of the design can be perceived through the limited amount of materials, colors and elements that sum up to a pleasurable shopping experience. the architect francesco gatti later reflects that ‘this is one of the few projects i did without any preliminary thinking, probably this concept was already in my subconscious a long time ago and i just suddenly dug it out during one of my meditation sessions.’

the discs mutate into elongated shapes in order to hold the dresses

the steel bars support structurally the randomly placed discs

the light background creates contrasted silhouettes of the vertical bars

the bars hold discs positioned horizontally that act as a shoe display

visitors will move around different densities of vertical bars

the sunglasses display is fixed on the vertical bars

thanks to the high light contrast, the dark bars merge into the dark floor and ceiling

steel bars filter the space into different areas

project information:

architecture firm: 3gatti
chief architect: francesco gatti
project manager: wang lin
collaborators: davide vallariello, valentina brunetti, arpad borcsok, ge yi, christina kordova
client: asa shopping co., ltd.
construction team: shanghai jinxi construction & engineering co., ltd
construction manager: yin jun
location: xintiandi, shanghai
total floor area: 78 m²
design period: february 2015
construction period: march 2015
materials: white fiberglass, iron bars, barrisol, concrete, mirrors.

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