life-size spiral stairs warp above a new retail store at the universal beijing resort

set in a 30 sqm space, the 'beijing youli' store evokes a sort of warm-toned metaverse bending time and space.

LELE edited by lea zeitoun March 17, 2022 4 min

WUUX completes ‘beijing youli’ store as a disruptive retail experience for zhima health

as a leader in the transformation and upgrade of time-honored brands, china-based zhima health invited designer wang yong from studio WUUX to put in place ‘beijing youli’, a spellbinding retail store within a 30 sqm space at the universal beijing resort. with its warm-toned surfaces and 3D ceiling installation, the shop offers visitors a disruptive and equally immersive consumer experience at the heart of the city.

reminiscent of inception retail space of zhima health at the universal beijing resort 11 — all images © zheng yan

the opening of zhima health’s ‘beijing youli’ store at the universal beijing resort has pooled nearly 30 local time-honored brands alongside international names. on top of functionality and social networking, the space is expected to offer strong emotional value for consumers, which WUUX (see more here) has addressed as a first challenge. the second challenge is the space itself – an area of less than 30 sqm.

given its relatively compact size, yong has worked out a way to minimize the feeling of confinement by adding a ‘fourth’ dimension based on a 3D design concept.

reminiscent of inception retail space of zhima health at the universal beijing resort 2 — reflective surfaces elevate the mesmerizing ceiling design

a 30 sqm ‘metaverse’ seemingly bending time and space with a 3d ceiling installation

yong wanted to target a customer group through a new architectural style that conforms to the resort culture, caters to the youth’s diversified preferences, complies with zhima health’s brand identity, and fits within the limited space. as a result, he drew inspiration from inception, multi-dimensionality, fashion, and traditional brand design to deliver a space that is part in vogue, part sci-fi, and part friendly.

reminiscent of inception retail space of zhima health at the universal beijing resort 3 — ‘beijing youli’ has pooled almost 30 local time-honored brands

taking advantage of the high ceiling, yong has deployed numerous towering wooden arches that intersect at the top and extend downwards to the bottom of the rammed earth walls where product shelves are mounted. additionally, four impressive pairs of life-size wooden spiral stairs thread through the arches. the final space echoes the shape of an unfolded accordion that’s bending time and space — creating a sort of retail ‘metaverse’ with mirrors that dramatize the ceiling design.

life-size spiral stairs warp above a new retail store at the universal beijing resort - 1 — yong has transformed the space into a sort of 30 sqm ‘metaverse’

concluding his design approach, yong says: ‘a whole glass on the ceiling and one side of the wall, together with the stretching structures that present a distortion in time and space, seems to have eliminated the boundary of the room and distorted time in a dazzling way. with light projecting from underneath the ground and structured light belts on the arches, a metaverse is throwing its arms wide open to all customers.’

life-size spiral stairs warp above a new retail store at the universal beijing resort - 2 — wooden arches complementing the life-size spiral stairs

life-size spiral stairs warp above a new retail store at the universal beijing resort - 3 — detail shot — four pairs of life-size spiral wooden stairs echoing each other overhead

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project info:

name: beijing youli for zhima health

location: universal beijing resort, china

project year: 2021

type: commercial / retail

client: beijing tongrentang health

architecture: WUUX

lead designer: wang yong

design team: wang yong, yue yu, zhiyong jia, chenxu zhu, wei tan, guiying zhang

project planning: le brand strategy

copywriting agency: NARJEELING

photography: zheng yan

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.