LLd pastry brand — Baicai Design

Project

Retail
Cultural
Restaurants and Bar
Cafe and Bakery
Other

LLd pastry brand

This concept store is built for the pastry brand, LLd. The store is located in Mixx City, a mall in Anshan. We believe the core values of the brand to be of a humble mind and the endless evolution in simplicity. The brand strives for excellence in perpetuity over being an ephemeral novelty.

Project Info:

Status: built, 2023
Area: 97 sqm
Client: LLD pastry brand
Location: An Shan
Photography: Topia Vision

The core design principle is the idea of a Sweet Metropolitan. LLd encapsulates pastries of Anshan in the world, as well as pastries of the world in Anshan. The boundaries between cultures and regions mesh in this space. A kaleidoscope of high-quality ingredients bump and blend in the Sweet Metropolitan.

Anshan, traditionally known for its steel production, is covered by an air of heavy industry. The design shows certain characteristics of the area with a light gray tone. The space pays respect to a certain classicism with steel and concrete, elevating tasty delicacies to the height of art, a metropolitan for tastebuds. Every bite of sweetness blossoms in elegance.

We kept the wall and shed frame from the mall. In addition, we set in an installation of a giant 'round theater'.

The stone floor rising and intertwining at different heights constructs the installation and tabletops. The traditional order and modern installation combined bestow the store a sense of stage, elegance and artistry. At the same time, the store stands out in the surrounding commercial design of the mall, presenting as a surprise, heightening the quality of the space in stark contrast.

The 'audience', customers, would sit around the theater, facing towards the center. A showcase of the delicious desserts will be at the heart of the circle, becoming a ceremonious center for attention and sight. The design allows people to pause or flow through it, creating opportunities to interact and an experience for emersion.

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