Max Mara boutique Chengdu | Duccio Grassi Architects

Duccio Grassi Architects designs Max Mara flagship store in Chengdu, on Renmin South road.
The size: 720 sqm articulated on two floors makes it one of the biggest Max Mara shops worldwide.
The flagship has been designed by Duccio Grassi Architects has a narration through diversified
experiences, where the floors become new attractive spaces for the visitor.
An important element is the innovative outside membrane made of burnished and brushed copper which characterizes the main entrance: the façade is composed of three levels of burnished copper which hide the lighting system that allows the store to change its face at night.
The material and the light define the design of the façade and set it apart from it's surrounding.
The secondary entrance located inside the mall, in opposition to the main one, presents a more
essential pattern: large shop windows alternate with simple surfaces made of burnished copper that frames the steel structure, designed as a semi-transparent and lighting wall, which partially screens the inside space through thin septums made of opaline lighted glass, wood and platinum-glass.
The contraposition, which is an essential theme of the project and defines the rythm of the extended boutique, continues in the selection of materials, which are combined in an unexpected way, reflecting the unusual combination of fabrics in the new Max Mara collections.
From organic materials, both innovative and ancient, with natural colors from ocra to soil tones,
everything has been studied to create a sober space, welcoming and well-balanced, a language which perfectly interprets the values of the Max Mara brand.
Wood is the absolute protagonist: ash-treated oak, rattan and recycled wood comunicate the
continuous blending of cultures and materials. The contrast is well-balanced with the hard materials selected: platinum-treated glass, burnished copper plates, shiny stainless steel.
On the ground floor the theory of small size products and accessories takes place near a versatile space for multi-functional installations that can change from one season to another. A protagonist of this floor is the staircase, with a vertical wall made by horizontal panels padded with soft pink fabric, that leads to the upper level of the store.
At the first level, simple volumes of different materials divide the space into several “rooms” that follow one another which contain the fitting rooms and create well-defined areas for the collections and a very easy walkway.
The elements that characterize this level are the wooden cash desk, with its irregular shape, and the diamond, a box covered by glass strips made of platinum leaves shining and glittering like the most precious of stones.
All the fitting rooms, both the simple and the three VIP areas, are made of vertical panels padded with soft pink fabric.
The big volumes are entirely covered by recycled wood in strong contrast with the black glass strips.
The bridal area is located in the last room that can be visited at the end of the walkway starting from the staircase's arrival.