Enlisted to craft an understated yet visible Shanghai flagship for Uniqlo, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson teamed with Candela Lighting Design to transform a quirky existing structure into a lustrous icon for the popular Japanese brand.
Shanghai’s Nanjing Road is the center stage of the city’s shopping culture. Its eastern end features a pedestrian zone with towers of neon signs competing for attention. Its western side has dramatic storefronts for high-end brands, including a brightly lit five-story suitcase for Louis Vuitton. In between, the Uniqlo global flagship store, designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s (BCJ) Seattle office for the popular Japanese clothing retailer, is a subdued player, without flashy lights or multistory logos. Instead the building relies on restrained architecture and lighting to make a quiet statement amid the noise, like a supporting actor stealing the scene with a simple gesture.
“We were interested in differentiating this building from what was around,” says Robert Miller, BCJ principal in charge. “I think people respond to subtle clues and discovery.” These subtle clues start at the new facade attached to an existing steel-reinforced concrete frame structure. A metal skin with a fluid pattern of perforations wraps the center three floors of the five-story building. By day, Shanghai’s typically gray sky gives the skin a solid appearance. By night, fluorescent lamps set inside the expanse of window frames reflect light off the back of display shelves and through the perforations. The reflected light produces a striated effect, suggesting the textiles of the clothing inside. This novel approach was created in part as a response to restrictions at the site that prohibited exterior lighting and mandated the original glass facade remain.
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