Oriented Glance

​​​​Architecture studio Various Associates has designed monochromatic interiors with mirrored surfaces and unusual fur covered partitions, for a womenswear store in Chongqing, China.

​​Shenzhen-based Various Associates ensured that symmetry was the focus of the store's design by creating a rectangular floor plan that encloses a smaller rectangular zone inside. Described by the studio as a "milestone", the enclosed core accommodates a service desk, a small lounge area and dressing rooms decorated with distinct furry pods where customers can change in privacy.

​​Its peripheral terrazzo walls are slanted to make the room a trapezoid shape, accentuated by a triangular entrance doorway. It can also be accessed via a series of openings that have been punctuated in the angled walls, intended to help customers effortlessly weave their way through different collections in store.

​​Mirrors have been integrated throughout the store's circulation spaces, a move the studio hopes will increase interaction amongst customers as they stop to glance at what items will look like on. Sheets of mirror have also been used to clad the border of doorways in the "milestone" and to form large rectangular screens in the lounge area. "In the mirrored corridors, the reflected image brings a more fun and futuristic sense to the real world," said the studio.

​​A slender, glass-topped plinth that displays the brand's jewellery collection juts out through the triangular doorway onto the external store floor. Behind the service desk are also a couple of sofas where customers can sit and relax. Symmetry has also been created in the placement of the various clothing rails.

​​A majority of the store's surfaces are painted a neutral grey tone to bring the brand's clothing collection to the foreground. Strip lighting hidden behind concrete panels also softly illuminates certain garments.

​​Photography: © Shao Feng