Located at the intersection of Chang’an and Wangfujing Street in one of the most established luxury malls in Beijing, the renovation works anySCALE was tasked with for the interior of the mall came with a few challenges. Being a bustling, popular place for wealthy shoppers the area marked for renovation, around 3,000 square meters, was kept open throughout the process. The renovations ranged in a T-shape, covering part of the lower and upper ground floor at the east end of the mall. The brief was to update the interior shop windows and surrounding facades, floors and ceiling, as well as update the lighting.
The starting point for the design by the anySCALE team was to treat the interior façade of the mall as a female face, applying a little make-up to freshen the facade. The face of a person is the most important reference point for two people when they first meet, and the eyes the first point of contact. For a mall, the most important thing are the shops within, and the shop windows, in this case, represent the eyes on the face of the mall. The idea was to use soft, natural colors for the “make-up” of the eyes, using warm tones which carried a touch of sophistication and glamour associated with the female shoppers that frequent the mall.
The shop window facades are covered in rich champagne colors combined with sanded glass to create a luxurious, satin look and feel. This back-painted glass treatment removes the cold feeling usually associated with this material and instead transforms the space with a warm and glamorous touch. Artificial stone of the floor is laid in two shades of champagne, running along the shop fronts in sharp lines, their color diminishing in intensity the further away they are from the facades. The rest of the floor is tiled in a comfortable off white. An echoing outline is visible in the new ceiling, emphasized by subtle hidden strip lighting which gives off an even illumination to the entire space. The signage for each shop was treated in the same way as the rest of the design. Using the same colored glass and finish the store front labels were etched into the back-painted glass so that when the sign is illuminated from behind the lettering stands out in a sharp white contrast to the deep tones of caramel. When the light is switched off, the label can not be seen.
