Moment | Modum Atelier
Nanjing / China / 2024
Part 1 Hidden in an Ancient Buildings
Moment boutique store is located in Cinnalane, Nanjing. This area was once the most bustling part of the old city south. A large number of two-story old wooden houses are distributed in the neighborhood crisscrossed by Pingshi Street and numerous alleys, and there is no shortage of Qing Dynasty residences. To the southeast of Moment boutique store is the Ganxi Mansion, one of the largest surviving urban residential complexes in China, known as the "Ninety-nine and a half rooms". With this architectural complex as the core, the entire area is planned as a historical and cultural district, and all surrounding buildings, including the one where the store is located, are in a unified antique style. However, this uniform architectural design brings many restrictions to the renovation of the shop.
An even more challenging issue is that the space leased by Moment is almost entirely on the second floor of the building. Compared to ground-floor shops, it naturally has a disadvantage in terms of customer flow. How to solve this problem while creating a brand image for the store that both blends into the ancient environment and has its own unique features has become the core starting point of the design.
Part 2 New Life for the "Old House"
The first floor of the building where Moment is located is divided into rented spaces, most of which are occupied by fire escape stairs, leaving only a width of 3.5 meters for the remaining usable space. Compared to the cramped interior, the outdoor space is more attractive. Hidden behind the buildings, the courtyard is home to towering jujube trees with lush foliage, and dense shadows dappled on the ground, creating a quiet and beautiful scene hidden from the bustling streets. Therefore, we suggested to the owner that instead of designing the limited narrow space on the first floor into a cramped selling area, it would be better to open it up as an outdoor space, forming a corridor connecting the inner courtyard with the street. The landscape of the inner courtyard is directly presented on the street, attracting passers-by to stop and linger. Stepping into it is like the description in "The Peach Blossom Spring": "At first, it was very narrow, just enough for one person to pass, but after walking dozens of steps, it suddenly opened up." This gives the narrow store more visual extension and also brings customers an experience as if they are entering a "paradise on earth".
For the theme of renovating shops in antique buildings, it is necessary to find a way to intervene on the facade that can both preserve the style of the old house and highlight the brand image of the shop. The design adopts a strategy similar to the restoration and reuse of ancient European buildings, bringing new life and vision to the building through modern window frames and opening methods. The window components are made of weathering steel, whose mottled rust contains a sense of time, subtly matching the tone of the blue bricks on the facade. At the same time, the eye-catching color and the flatness of the industrial products are distinct from the brick wall, clearly showing the new and old relationship on the facade. The window opening on the main facade of the second floor is maintained in its original position, and its size is enlarged to a floor-to-ceiling window, allowing more of the interior to be seen. The window on the southwest gable wall is decorated with eaves, and the windows on both sides are formed into a complete, interlaced corner window through the weaving of steel.
Inside the courtyard, the facades on both sides of the building continue the design language of the street side, and since they are no longer restricted by the continuity of the street, the facades have greater freedom for transformation. Therefore, the scale of the intervention components has expanded from windows to facades, completely hollowing out the original"ancient building"and embedding a metal sculpture inside. The outer wall of the fire escape stairwell has been completely removed and replaced with the main entrance of the store. Connected to the corridor, the ground floor of the building presents a complete large-span opening. The display window is interspersed in the middle, dividing the opening into two. The side near the entrance is obliquely shifted to allow the stairs to be more displayed, guiding customers smoothly to the second floor, presenting a more friendly and welcoming commercial attitude. A horizontally extended long canopy is set above the large-span opening at the ground floor. In addition to providing outdoor shelter from the rain, the shadow it forms adds a hazy and soft aesthetic to the interaction between the facades. Two corner steels pull the edges of the canopy, as if they bear the main structural function. The gravity of the weathering steel and the slenderness of the corner steel form an intuitive contrast, making the canopy seem to float in the air, making the whole appear lively and light.
Part 3 Private Parlor and Corridor
The boutique store is a business model closely connected to the individual attributes of the manager, whose unique aesthetic taste is the core to attract customers. The relationship between the owner and customers is closer, transforming from a traditional sales scene to an interactive exchange based on trust and taste. It is very important to create an exclusive activity field for the core grouping, a social and cultural space where a sense of belonging and unique experience can be felt. Therefore, a"pavilion"space is placed in the space. Taking advantage of the height advantage of the sloping roof, a single-slope wooden pavilion is built at the corner of the plane, serving as a rest area for the owner to receive regular customers and friends. The interior of the wooden pavilion is arranged like a tea room, with booth sofas and a few small chairs around a long case. The front and back of the wooden pavilion are completely open, maintaining visual permeability. The bottom of the wooden pavilion is raised by four short square columns, 75 centimeters off the ground, connected to the ground by a suspended staircase. The ground below uses washed stone, together with scattered stones, creating a fictional outdoor terrain. The delicacy of the floating wooden pavilion contrasts with the roughness of the ground, as if it was not originally here but wandered from afar, just making a short stop. A cylindrical body is placed at the L-shaped corner to weaken the sharpness of the right angle. Its interior is divided into a fitting room and a nail service area. The cylindrical body extends to the interior of the wooden pavilion, supporting the mountain of the pavilion, and the arc formed by the roof softens the space. The wooden pavilion and the cylindrical space become the core "Parlor" field in the space, regularly inviting core customers to participate in salons, sharing sessions, or new product trials, enhancing the stickiness between customers and the brand through these interactions.
Clothing display also requires a more immersive experience. Try to transform the sales space into an "exhibition" full of storytelling, emotional resonance, and experiential value. By introducing the concept of "corridor" from traditional gardens, a flowing and narrative visit route is designed for customers. Clothing display unfolds slowly around the "Parlor". The ceiling corresponding to the path is slightly raised, naturally forming the space of the"corridor". The arc of the ceiling brings a contemporary aesthetic to the space and also echoes the ridge curve of the Ganxi Mansion. The ceiling is actually fixed on the roof with hanging locks, with a slender, non-structural column at each end. They visually act as fulcrums to lift the plate, making the whole seem to float and become more light.
Unlike traditional sales spaces where clothing is the only protagonist, Moment injects more landscape elements. Along the "corridor", a series of "hole" are constructed by different forms of windows and mirrors, like camera viewfinders, capturing the surrounding environment's images and bringing them indoors as landscapes. Through a visual narrative like a movie long shot, Moment creates an atmosphere that integrates with the cultural environment. These landscapes not only serve as a backdrop for customers to try on clothes, but also give the space more value for photo-taking and social communication.
A large vertical window at the entrance is installed with punching mesh, with the dappled tree shadows sieved through the mesh. A mirror is arranged on the wall between two windows on the southwest corner, with the reflected images inside and the outdoor scenery intertwined, forming an interesting visual illusion. Two floor-to-ceiling windows on the side facing Rongzhuang Street frame the continuous scenery of the Ganxi Mansion's roof. As the end of the space, the exit staircase is transformed into an outdoor balcony, with a horizontal long window freezing the outside tree shadows into a flowing long scroll. The corridor corridor these image segments into a closed loop, transforming the shopping experience in the clothing store into an immersive feeling of walking through a garden.
Project Name: Moment boutique store
Design Team: Zhang Siyi, Huang Xing, Luo Suhan, Yang Junbo, Zhou Ruizhe
Construction: Nanjing Lishu Construction & Decoration Co.
Address: Nanjing, China
Building Area: 250㎡
Design Period:June 2024-August 2024
Construction:October 2024
Material: Punching Mesh, Washed Stone, Art Paint, Natural Wood Veneer, Weathering Steel
Photography: Howie
Contact Email: [email protected]
Part 1 Hidden in an Ancient Buildings Moment boutique store is located in Cinnalane, Nanjing. This area was once the most bustling part of the old city south. A large number of two-story old wooden houses are distributed in the neighborhood crisscrossed by Pingshi Street and numerous alleys, and there is no shortage of Qing Dynasty residences. To the southeast of Moment boutique store is the Ganxi Mansion, one of the largest surviving urban residential complexes in China, known as the...
- Year 2024
- Work started in 2024
- Work finished in 2024
- Status Completed works
- Type Showrooms/Shops / Interior Design
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