THE URBAN THEATRE | Jakob + MacFarlane Architects

Located in a vibrant fashion shopping area of Shanghai, this project was imagined as an urban theatre.

The design concept stems from the idea of a flexible space opening up to create a big volume that brings to mind a theatre or a train station. It was intended as a spectacular showcase of public life, and notably of urban fashion. With its long storefront facing a major boulevard and a narrower facade looking onto a side street, the project offers two different visual experiences: A dazzling frontal view reveals the multi-layered interior, while the side facade hints at the coveted views from a theatre backstage.

Like an interior street, the ground floor runs along the boulevard and is equally suited for hosting fashion shows and displaying merchandise.

A repeating structural module creates unique settings within the larger space of the store. Parts of these modules reach outside, jutting out from the facade. Functionally, the modules act as a unifying framework that integrates everything from staircases to changing rooms and from countertops to merchandise displays. Metaphorically, we see it as the skeleton for a new fashion body – sophisticated and poetic.

Winner of the French Design 100 Award by VIA

Architect: Jakob+MacFarlane

Client: Urban Revivo

Location: Shanghai, China

Surface area: 1200 sqm / 12900 sqft

Completed: 2021

Materials:

Facade: glass and stainless steel, with fin-shaped parts of the interior structure jutting outside.

Interior walls: white digitally cut plaster contrasting with the sandblasted concrete of the existing structure.

Display furniture (designed by Jakob+MacFarlane): stainless steel.

Photo credits: © Peter Dixie