15-2 WINDOW — Baicai Design

15-2 WINDOW

Baicai's entire storefront is given over to the window. WINDOW SPACE is a boundless space for outputting ideas. It will host regular exhibitions, sharing fun things and interesting thoughts. White light breaking through the grayscale, an unadorned exterior—letting content become the facade.

Project Info:

Status: built, 2021
Area: 206 sqm
Client: BaiCai
Location: ShenYang
Photography: Topia Vision

The project is located on the first floor of a residential building over twenty years old, with a brick-concrete structure. During the design process, in order to achieve a 25-square-meter fully glazed display facade, we made significant structural modifications to the exterior. We removed two existing structural columns, excavated the foundation down to the original soil layer, and reinstalled columns on both sides. Upper and lower beams were poured to form a stable grid structure, creating a clean facade while avoiding the risk of settlement caused by the weight of the large glass panels. The entrance and equipment partitions were pushed to the outside of the columns on the facade to be concealed, making the window the sole visual focal point.

At the end of an 8-meter-deep narrow corridor beside the WINDOW is a hidden door, which opens into Baicai's office space. The long corridor and hidden door allow the art space and the studio to exist independently, yet connect in a more intimate way.

The overall atmosphere of the space is Baicai's base palette: snow white and snow gray. The studio retains the original beams and columns; all other walls and cabinets are white, creating warmth and comfort through the display of content.

To ensure visual transparency and depth, bookshelves and glass are used to define zones and circulation, naturally delineating the workspace, activity area, pantry, and office.

We hope Baicai is a space with light—one that is content-rich and creative, yet also logical and free.

About

Baicai Design is a multidisciplinary design practice based in New York and Shenyang, working across architecture, interiors, exhibitions, and spatial design. Its practice spans different geographies, scales, and cultural contexts.

Founded by Kaiwen Zhao, Baicai is shaped by his interdisciplinary background in design and architecture. Zhao studied Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Architecture at the Yale School of Architecture. He currently teaches in the Department of Industrial Design at RISD, and has previously taught at the University of Colorado Denver, lectured at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and served as a guest critic at Syracuse University.

Baicai approaches space beyond the conventional boundaries of interior design, bringing together architectural and product design thinking to address spatial questions. Through different scales of intervention, we explore the relationships between space, objects, and human behavior.

New York:
540 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY, 11201

Shenyang:
A07International Software Park, Shenyang, China

baicaidesignoffice@gmail.com

Awards

FRAME Wellness Space of the year Shortlisted
2026

Paris Design Awards Winner
2026

MUSE Design Awards Gold Winner
2026

Dezeen China Rising Firm of the Year
2025

POSITION Award China Best 100 Young Architect
2024

Guangzhou Design Week 40 Under 40
2024

AD China 100 YOUNG
2022-2024

Architizer Best Young Interior Design Firm Special Mention
2024

Forbes China 30 Under 30
2023

FRAME Small Residential of the year Shortlisted
2023

FRAME Award Best Emerging Designer Nominee
2023

APIDA Design Award Excellence Award
2023

FRAME Pop-up Store of the Year
2022

FRAME Window Display of the Year Shortlisted
2022

WYDF TOP 100 Designer
2022

Dezeen Award Shortlisted
2022

Architecture Masterprize Best of The Bests
2022

AD China 100 YOUNG
2020-2022

Architecture Masterprize Honorable Mention
2022

KUKAN Design Award Shortlisted
2022

DNA Award Winner in Workplace Design
2022

DNA Award Honorable Mention in Workplace Design
2022

DNA Award Honorable Mention in Showroom Design
2022

K-Design Award Winner
2022

Novum Design Award Gold Award
2022

Novum Design Award Silver Award
2022

IDA Design Award Honorable Mention
2022

FRAME Best of the Month
2022 April

Design for Asia Award Bronx Award
2021

Design for Asia Award Excellence Award
2021

IDEA Design Award Finalist
2021

Golden Pin Design Award Winner
2021

Golden Pin Design Award Honorable Mention
2022

Press

Baicai Design’s work has received international media coverage across architecture, design, fashion, and culture. The studio has been featured in publications including Gestalten, INTERIORS, AD China, FRAME, Interior Design China, My Home, and id+c, alongside leading global platforms such as Dezeen, Leibal, Architizer, Divisare, Vogue, ELLE China, Yatzer, Cosmopolitan, gooood, Archilovers, Designverse, and Archello.