KCA/Kostas Chatzigiannis Architecture Executes Concrete Vision for Shanghai Boutique
There’s a new generation
of shoppers in China’s large
cities. International, fashionable, and with a penchant for luxury, one-of-kind goods, they’re the market that the Shouter, a millennial-focused home furnishings boutique in Shanghai, is looking to attract. To do so, the store enlisted KCA/Kostas Chatzigiannis Architecture, led by the firm’s namesake principal.
The client’s primary request was that the Shouter look completely different from its retail neighbors. Employing concrete, KCA took an assertive, creative approach that immediately sets apart the 2,700-square- foot store, starting with its facade. Walls, one foot thick, were cast in place to appear “broken,” Chatzigiannis notes, in the middle and supported by stainless steel poles. The resulting holes partially expose the interiors to passersby
as well as the individual furniture pieces, such as APcollection’s pink sheepskin Flamingo Girl chair, displayed on simple white platforms. “Cracks” in the concrete are lit by similarly fragmented linear LEDs.
The simplicity of the materials palette allows the products to shine. “The idea was to create a rough architectural background to contrast with the delicate, colorful merchandise,” Chatzigiannis explains. Some of that merch is limited edition custom pieces by the architect himself. “We designed things the customers probably haven’t seen before.”
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