LUXOTTICA Showroom | Lapis Bureau (LxB)

Luxottica decided to set in Beijing a new showroom and office space combined, located within the Pommegrenade Centre, with Ray-Ban and Oakley dedicated branded corners, and several multi-brand displays of luxury glasses.

The originally irregular shape of the building is perceived regular and symmetrical once stepped inside the showroom, thanks to the insertion of a diagonal wall that accompanies the customers towards a circular flow within the open space and the branded display islands, hence allowing the architects to insert functional spaces for the back-of-house and office-needs required by the client.

The design of operative zones such as work spaces and meeting areas has been done taking in consideration visual connections, easy accessibility and free circulation. The enlightened displays of the main brands play as a colorful and appealing background within the light and clear colors of the environment.

The details are kept raw and clean, with the blue ceiling and the diagonal lighting system becoming the main design orientation, ensuring a unique look to the showroom and reflecting the Luxottica corporate identity.

The height of the main gates determines the edge between the white plastered walls and the blue painted rough surfaces, recreating the feeling of a faux-ceiling. The windows are partially screened with semi- transparent foil on the eye-height, and with a blue-dotted pattern on the taller edge of the windows, allowing simultaneously privacy, sun-screening, and diffused natural light.

The single branded displays are easily moveable around to satisfy different needs of lay-out options, especially important during corporate events, when different group, buyers and distributors show up simultaneously. The vertical surfaces left mostly blank allow different projections, or the presence of advertising light-boxes. In such way the rather small footprint of the building can be properly exploited at its maximum capability, and being a multi-functional and flexible space.

A key factor of sustainability in a project nowadays, despite energy efficiency, is the ability to foresee future usage possibilities and to adapt to different spatial scenarios required. 

The open plan and moveable displays allow the space to be flexible and be used for different kind of events, hosting different amounts of users and separate the showroom in multiple independent areas.

In order to save the budget and to contain the usage of resources and materials, we adopted smart design solutions that emphasizes the aesthetics of the interiors and define its branded images, such as avoiding the counter ceiling, allowing the full height of the space to bring in as much natural light as possible, while painting all fixtures and piping and ceiling in the Luxottica branded blue, resembling the sky and transmitting an optimal “sunny-day” feeling for all visitors and users, optimal for testing and trying the sunglasses and different lenses.