CITYFARM | JUNWEI SHEN

CITYFARM was an abandoned store hidden in a corner. The CITYSHOP Company rented this place and decided to build the most gorgeous bazaar here. Mr. Shen took charge of the project at the beginning of 2018. The initial plan was to design with existing indoor space layout. However there was a change of plan when a renewable courtyard and an entrance next to the garage is discovered on the site. The bazaar will be eco-friendly and interactive from outside to inside.

To make the site connect to its past, the profile of its entrance is reshaped to imitate that of the garage, so that the existing building and the new one will have a symmetrical echo in terms of roof morphology. The new roof provides a shelter for pedestrians from bad weather, as well as bringing about vitality. The rugged geography is transformed into hills winding up and down. Private vegetable fields cover both sides of the walks. These vegetation patches fill in the transiting area from the bazaar to the walks, adding intimacy to the neighborhood.

Design Concept: FARMING STAGE

A man, the woods, a hut. These elements depict a picture of a tranquil and comfortable country life. Through creating an atmosphere of idyll pastoral lifestyle, we wake the urbanites up from daily busy triviality to the ideology of “Out of the cages, into the woods”……
Design Introduction:

The project of Cityfarm life bazaar is located in a high density community in Gubei, Shanghai. The reconstructed parts are dispersed among the district. Therefore, antique and  avant-garde interacts with each other here. Some old shops have been replaced by new ones. Cityfarm is brand new to this community, so our purpose is to make the old and new parts bond, to encourage more communication among neighborhood.

There are four parts in this project: Cityfarm, Farming Stage, EAT IN Space, Farm Foodstudy Institute. The architect expressed an attitude towards life and the awe for food in a natural pristine way.

The Territory Plan of Cityfarm enhances experiences. The architect designed the main gate to be part of the surroundings, in a way that the profile of the garage entrance and the facade of Cityfarm respond graphically to each other and coalesce naturally. Across the entrance, we enter the courtyard that seems like hills winding up and down. Ascending the stone and wood steps one after another, we come to the vegetable fields adopted by private collectors, along both sides of the walks. Owning a small patch of vegetation in this land of gold in Gubei district, the urban children will experience the pleasure of living and enjoying farming life in their secret base.

Before entering the indoor part of Cityfarm, customers will pass by a platform. The platform integrates a variety of activities: open-air market, barbecue, outdoor restaurant, leisure and parties etc.

Looking from the platform, we will meet with a sense of pure white. The facade consists of transparent glass, expressing the philosophy of Cityfarm ecology: Tracing the source, Pure and natural.

On the inside, the streamline of customers is laid out along a transparent operation unit, which appears as a Farming stage. That various commodities decorating the whole counter exhibits the jollification of the bazaar, making the customers feel welcomed in this space instantly and wander in the store at ease. Casual EAT IN Spaces are set up in different areas, perhaps around a corner, or on the  open-air platform. With a small cup of coffee holding in hand, the customers can taste this rare tranquility in busy urban life.

At the end of the space, the Farm Foodstudy Institute will be open across a long corridor. Wood farm boxes are hanging down from the roof for decoration. A vigorous and abundant farm scene pops right in front of us. The flexible placement of furniture serves to different functionalities, such as cuisine classroom, salon, party, restaurant, to satisfy the customers’ demands of different lifestyles.