LOVIVO gallery — Baicai Design

LOVIVO gallery

"Every moment points toward the future. In the digital age, the surge of information composed of infinite 0s and 1s reaches its limit; the moment of information explosion is the moment of re-understanding and re-architecting. Infinity and weightlessness—civilization steps through a door." — Baicai

Project Info:

Status: built, 2021
Area: 456 sqm
Client: LOVIVO gallery
Location: ShenYang
Photography: Topia Vision

Technology companies define the future. LOVIVO Gallery is a concept space on the first and second floors of Qianfan Jinghe. The spatial concept starts with technology, extracting "future" and "information explosion" as the core of its composition, from which a series of emotional touchpoints are derived: suspension, volume, infinity, metal, the unknown, and network. With technology advancing at a rapid pace today, humanity faces an infinite future and infinite unknowns. Technology companies must surely walk ahead as explorers on this path. No one can foresee the end of the road, but the continuous contemplation of this unknown proposition is the social responsibility of those working in technology. The significance of this space has nothing to do with beauty or ugliness; rather, it evokes a power to explore the unknown and a reverence for the infinite.

The project is located in the ancient city area of Shenyang, inside Huaiyuan Gate and next to the Imperial Palace, surrounded by buildings of classic Chinese charm. The site occupies the first and second floors of a building rich in traditional Chinese elements. The street-facing facade is narrow, but the depth is significant. Natural lighting conditions and the site's advantages as an exhibition space are less than ideal. In this context, we decided to use the conceptual spatial tension to engage in a dialogue with the environment.

By turning both sides into mirrored surfaces and utilizing the site's depth, the space is visually stretched into an infinite space. Combined with disordered white steel volumes, it creates a sense of infinity and weightlessness of information explosion, turning the site's disadvantages into advantages.

The concept of a grid runs throughout the entire space. For a de-materialized expression, each one-meter-square area within the white steel floor grid is composed of 100 randomly arranged 10-centimeter-square stone pieces, rendering a double-layer grid system. The white steel on the floor aligns seamlessly with the mirrored walls and the ceiling above. Lighting within the space is hidden in the ceiling gaps, and through careful beam angle calculations, the fixtures remain invisible while the light is visible. The language of lines contains the entire space while extending infinitely.

The north side of the first floor features a visually continuous LED screen that serves to display content and control circulation. Combined with the mirrors, it visually extends into infinity. Four of the LED screens can rotate. When closed, the space remains a complete infinite space. When rotated open, the circulation opens up, revealing the staircase to the upper floor and the meeting space on the first floor.

We carried out an overall renovation of the staircase from the 1st to the 4th floor of the entire building. The white steel handrail extends from the first floor to the fourth, forming a thin slice that runs through all four levels in spatial logic. While broadening the perceived width of the staircase, the white steel visually presents a "V" symbol from any vantage point, reinforcing the spatial signifier element.

The second floor is an activity and leisure area for company employees. The design continues the materials, the interlocking volumetric relationships, and the sense of disorder from the first floor. By leaving the floor plan undefined, the possibilities for spatial use are increased. Through the fragmented application of materials, fragments of interaction between people and the design concept are reflected.

The space forges a place of faith, delivering a message—about technology, about reverence, about the future.

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.