Author: moredesignoffice

MDO were honoured to be offered the chance to design the interior for a unique piece of architecture situated in the beautiful Liangzhu area, in the northwestern outskirts of Hangzhou.

As designers we are interested in relationships and contrasts; architecture and interior, the rough and the smooth, dark and light, strong and the delicate.  Between each is a transition, and opportunity to create an emotion.

For us, the Sales Gallery represents one of these transitions.  It is a gateway that visitors encounter on their journey to discover the development.  This sense of arrival became our starting point for the entrance hall. A tall processional space which would fill the visitors with a sense of awe and anticipation. A place where we could set the tone and express the developments commitment to refinement and quality.

We designed a series of folding arches (inspired by painting of traditional Chinese roofs by Wu Guangzhong) which responds to the rhythm of the architectural façade.  Side lit from the south, the rhythm is enhanced by a series of columns clad in contrasting dark hairline metal and light textured limestone.  Each bay allows a glimpse view through a layered lacquer screen to the inside.

The central hall is divided into 2 parts. The first is the model area, which is flanked by a long bar clad in bush-hammered stone, and a delicate forest of dark metal rods. The composition of the space is formal, with a strong central axis which leads on to the 2nd consultation area, and the external water feature.

One challenged we faced was that the entrance hall is a double height space, with a very impressive scale. When you come into the model hall the ceiling drops to half the height.  How to keep the energy of the design?

Our solution was to continue the theme of folding roofs, but on a much greater scale.   We created a direction fold inspired by water ripples which flows to the outside. As it reaches the consultation area the fold becomes symmetrical so that it creates the form of a traditional roof above the seating.  This establishes a more comfortable and intimate setting above the consultation area.

We designed custom built sofa and seating which responds to the views of the landscape. When you sit with your back to the wall, the seating is high backed and enclosing. Whereas where the seating faces the landscape the sofas are lower to allow all guests views of the garden and landscape.

Photography by Sicong Sui 隋思聪

The Jianliju theatre company, in an interesting examination of typology, offer a unique spectator experience where the audience plays an integral part of their performances and productions, as such the brief for their new premises in Shanghai demands a careful architectural approach to the relationships between space, event and movement. MDO selected to take on this mantle have addressed these conditions with a deliberate and exaggerated exploration of form, lighting and circulation. We have taken the cinematic expression of film noir and applied its heightened sense of drama to the atmosphere within to create a sequence of contrasting spaces that read as a montage of screenshots from a film reel.

With work of this nature the architectural theory of Tschumi, especially the 1976 Screenplays project is never far away and many of the formal strategies employed by the architect directly reference the parallels with screen editing and the time-space nature of architecture. Tools such as distortion, repetition and superimposition often used by the great directors of the film noir scene have all been applied as a method to soak the interior with all the atmosphere of a 50s Hollywood melodrama.

The theatre is accessed off a non-descript side-street in central Shanghai, the entrance door hidden at the back of an antique furniture emporium. Visitors arrive only with a time, location and number. From the door a stair leads down into the darkness and from there the circulation seeks to create a sense of departure from the world outside, a deliberate act of disorientation initiated by a dark curved corridor that emphasizes low-key lighting and unbalanced compositions leads to the spaces inside. The functions are organized into a linear arrangement of spaces, where the visitor is prevented from going backwards, as if following an unknown figure through the street at night.

Photographs by Dirk Weiblen

Signage by Evelyn Chiu

More Design Office’s new treatment spa for Hong Kong based mtm Skincare is a hidden gem accessed via a gently curving feature stair.
Situated in Chengdu’s Taikoo Li, the 400sqm spa has 2 main functions, a retail-orientated ground floor where customers can have their skin analysied by mtm’s consultants who can recommend custom-made skin products.  On the 2nd floor is expansive treatment area where the clients can receive facial treatments and massage.
As part of mtm’s China presence MDO developed a new store for the concept which highlights the scientific and bespoke nature to mtm’s service.  Referring to the brand’s Japanese origins, the new palette is neutral in colour, with natural materials of stone and timber carefully detailed, and focus on space and boundaries.
The guests meet with the consultants in specially design booths where their skin can be analyzed. The process is open, but privacy is achieved by a series of layers which draw reference from the Japanese screen (Koshi) 格子.
The two functions of retail and treatment are separated vertically.  The feature stair becomes the boundary and transition space organizing public/private, fast/slow, clinical/spa.
As guests climb the stair the ceiling folds over and the walls are lit by hidden uplights creating a warm and comforting environment.  The second floor spaces are lit with just floor washers which graze the lower walls to create a Zen like experience, taking the visitors far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.