With content playing an essential role in the era of social media, and design and space an important element of this, Shenzhen-based design studio HOPE DESIGN have collaborated with Shao Buchushu on a unique multi-use venue that is designed to engage the local young people in Chengdu; allowing them to explore the lifestyles relevant to them.
Shao Buchushu, a brand rooted in Chengdu, enlisted the expertise of HOPE DESIGN to explore the city’s youth culture through the creation of a unique space, the brief of “what form should this space take?” answered by embracing the concept of ‘explorative utopia,’ reflective of Chengdu’s local lifestyle; the designers “bringing a mountain” into the heart of the bustling city in an overwhelming fusion of industrial urbanism and the natural world.
Situated on the top floor of a small commercial building, an elevator hall concealed amid the urban rush transports its visitors into an another world within the heart of the city. Exposed roof structures, pipes, steel stairs, and railings represent the city’s concrete backdrop. However, upon entering, sand, stones, water, and verdant plants soften the spatial atmosphere, reflecting the inner essence of young people in Chengdu: a ‘soft heart’ concealed within their tough exterior.
Leveraging the original floor height, HOPE DESIGN conceived a circulation that spirals upward and envelopes the central space. As visitors ascend the stairs, it evokes the experience of scaling a mountain, while enriching the spatial form. The waterscape is inspired by mountain springs, and the crunching sand and gravel underfoot in the mezzanine beckon visitors to pause.
This mountain conveys a concept of ‘nothingness,’ from which creation emerges. It implies that every young visitor is a cornerstone of this mountain. Here, they converge to collectively shape the utopia within their hearts, the epitome of their generation’s ideals.
Once at the top of the mountain, visitors are welcomed by an oasis among the city’s built context. Defined by all who set foot here, HOPE DESIGN explored diverse possibilities for business operations in the space through unconventional practices. From fashion catwalks to a bar for young people, the space provides an open stage devoid of fixed roles, only opportunities.
Engaging youth culture with a physical space for ideas to be born and executed, this multi-use cultural venue in Chengdu is a bold vision for how brands, businesses and designers can engage with the contemporary generation; experience and differential at the heart of appealing to their singular outlook on life.
Shao Buchushu Chengdu Photography, HereSpace/He Chuan.
