Aloospace Furniture Store

Project

Retail
Cultural
Restaurants and Bar
Cafe and Bakery
Other

The Aloospace Furniture Store is located on Changbai Yadeli Island in Shenyang, near the Lotus Pond Park in a low-density commercial area. The Store specializes in high-end imported designer furniture. As an imported furniture collection store with an area of 500 square meters, we hope the space can be as free and easy as possible, presenting a comfortable and relaxed "sales floor" state.

Project Info:

Status: built, 2024
Area: 510 sqm
Client: Aloospace Furniture Store
Location: ShenYang
Photography: Topia Vision

The site consists of a two-story street-facing storefront with a steel structure, featuring few columns in the layout and no load-bearing walls. The first floor comprises two retail units, while the second floor is a single integrated space. This configuration poses a challenge to layout strategy in the design process. We have interconnected the two spaces on the first floor and installed an indoor staircase leading to the second floor. By integrating the characteristics of the products in the space, we create a suitable experience.

The space primarily features products from the Swiss home brand USM, a leader in high-end modular furniture. USM has gained significant recognition in both international and domestic markets. We hope that the final presentation of the space will also embody the same level of freedom as modular furniture.

In the floor plan, we preserved the open nature of the space, creating spatial experiences with minimal intervention. Our design placed the staircase at the rear of the first floor, integrating it with a low wall to maintain the openness of both the first and second floors as much as possible. The division of space is primarily achieved through semi-transparent USM cabinets, installations, and low walls, creating display areas and circulation paths in an unforced manner.

We have integrated the staircase into the space as an installation, composed of three parts: a platform + low wall, concrete blocks, and the main body of the metal staircase. This deconstructed approach diminishes the sense of conflict the staircase might otherwise introduce into the space, while also serving to create dynamic circulation paths. The main body of the staircase, made of metal and green marble, ensures the visual permeability of the space. The designer has applied the marble to the stair treads in a deconstructed manner, creating a stark contrast with the metal texture and thereby generating a sense of conflict.

The second floor of the space serves as an office and USM product display area, also featuring an open modular furniture assembly space, allowing for a close-up view of the assembly details and process of modular furniture.

We hope that the final presentation of the space is flexible and adaptable, providing customers with a free environment to select furniture products.

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.

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

Vestibulum Inceptos Gravida, Ornare Review,
by Tincidunt Nisl
2024

Ullamcorper Faucibus (Congue) Euismod, by Ligula Parturient, Bibendum Review Porta Libero
2023

Dictumst Tristique, Facilisis Magazine, Edition Two, Porta Libero
2021

Auctor Adipiscing Art Magazine, Porta Libero
2020

Sollicitudin Ornare Magazine,
Porta Libero
2020

Press