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On September 30, 2021, a new jewelry zone was opened on the 2nd floor of Xidan Joy City (Da Yue City), located in the heart of North Beijing and is one of the most prominent commercial areas in the city. JOYCITY is a shopping center operated by Grand Joy throughout China, of which Xidan JOY CITY is the core store with particularly high sales and name recognition.

This time, we provided basic planning, basic design, implementation design, and design supervision for a brand editorial theme zone with jewelry brands targeting mainly young people concentrated in one corner of the facility. We have dispelled the brand image of a traditional jewelry store, which tends to be avoided by younger customers due to its emphasis on luxury. A signature mix of café spaces and other spaces where people can casually drop by has been created to create a my-first space with diversity.

The keywords for the design concept were (1) Mine (mining/my) and (2) Shine (sparkle of jewelry/brilliance of life), derived from the characteristics of jewelry. We created a space that evokes a mine shaft with a sense of “softness,” “brightness,” “cleanliness,” and “calmness,” thereby expressing a sense of unity as a zone. At the same time, we were conscious of not losing the concept and spatial expression of each brand and completed the new space with a sense of unity as a zone and the individuality of each brand.

◆Design Concept

The creation of new and unprecedented spaces and how they can be integrated with commercial facilities is the source of inspiration for this design.The design concept was to create a space that evokes a mine shaft with a sense of softness, brightness, cleanliness, and serenity, based on the keywords (1) Mine (mining/my) and (2) Shine (sparkle of jewelry/brilliance of life), which were derived from the characteristics of jewelry.

◆Design keywords

(1) Mine (mining/my)

“Mine” means not only “mining” but also “my, exclusively my own, my family”. We wanted this space to be a familiar and warm place where visitors can find special memories for themselves, their loved ones, and their families. To this end, we have given the space a soft and elegant presentation that touches the softest part of one’s heart.

(2) Shine (sparkle of jewelry/brilliance of life)

The special brilliance of precious metals as well as the meaning of will, vitality, mystery, and the sparkle of life that guides the future. The radiance emitted by gold jewelry is expressed this space by through the light emitted from the gaps between the clouds and the light spots.

◆Spatial Direction

Ribbons are skillfully utilized throughout the space. The winding tunnels add a ribbon-like softness that naturally leads visitors deeper into the zone. Everyone is drawn to each branching store as if to explore and discover. The light inside the stores shines through irregularly sized holes in the storefront partitions, leaking out into the aisles. The zone consists of one island store and eight retail units surrounding it. We have combined our island shop with retail and a café, designing the BrandMiX space to include a rest space where people can stop by casually. A common space near the entrance is open to everyone, creating a natural flow to the jewelry area. In addition, as an aesthetic creation, a landscape of small plants signifying hope and the future were placed to convey the effort to implement measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which is spreading worldwide, and that the coronavirus must be contained as soon as possible. Evergreen natural mosses were combined to create hills of varying heights and scattered throughout the public areas to complete a simple yet mysterious, garden-like shopping space experience space that is soothing in its quietness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

■Designer Profile

Masahito Kamekawa
Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design, Senior Designer
Kamekawa has had many achievements in large commercial facilities such as department stores and shopping malls, both in Japan and overseas. He was involved in the concept design of the Hankyu Umeda Main Store rebuilding project (1F-3F) and the concept design and schematic design of the Shinsaibashi Daimaru rebuilding project (4F-5F and B1 Fashion Sundries). He was awarded the Asia Pacific Property Award 2016 for “Joy Yard” in JOYCITY, a commercial facility in Beijing, and a special award in the Architecture and Branding category of the Architizer A+ Award 2017 for the shoe department on the 2nd floor of JOYCITY. Kamekawa’s recent achievements include the concept design of Suzhou Joy Breeze and the concept design and schematic design of Beijing Joy Breeze.

■Scope of work

Concept Design、Schematic Design、Design Development、Design Supervision、Lighting Design

■Property Information

Name: Beijing Xidan Daecheng 2F Jewelry Theme Zone

Official opening: September 30, 2021

Location: No.131 Xidan North Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, China

Store area: 1700m2 (2nd floor)

 

 

Located in Yanji City, Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, China, the high-end department store Yanji Baicao Dalou is the No. 1 department store in the region, representing the city.

Yanji Department Store launched a floor-by-floor renovation project, and GARDE provided basic planning, basic design, implementation design, design supervision, and lighting design for the 6th floor, which is the first renovated floor.

The sixth floor originally consisted of only living room-related products, but by relocating the kids’ products section, which was located on the bridge between the buildings, we targeted families and created a living room and kids’ floor that families would gravitate towards.

This time,by reimaging the floor as a large house, we came up with the design concept”Resort House–with a resort-like atmosphere where everyone can gather and adults and children alike can relax and have fun.”

Each zone has a different design concept, such as “Soft Form”, “Natural Material”, and “Sun Light”, all of which gives a sense of warmth and openness. As a result, we designed a space in which people can enjoy walking around, moving through various “rooms” while maintaining a sense of unity.Using light colors, rounded forms, and a lot of wood, we have created”enveloping gentleness,” “natural materials”, and “warmth and openness”. In both the living zone and the kids’ zone, the ceiling design is switched to create a space that feels like a relaxing and warm resort-like home.

The living room zone is designed with warm wood flooring, tiles that give a sense of nature, wood and plaster materials, and design lighting that gives a sense of airiness.

On the other hand, for the kids’ zone, we designed a pop-up space with characteristic shapes, light coloring, and a playful ceiling design, a space with the image of a courtyard, a bright and warm children’s space with pillars based on lighting motifs, warm wood with moderate partitions, and a terrace space that looks like an outdoor playground with soft lighting like sunlight. The result is a space that makes families want to gather together.

■Designer Profile

Yutaka Yamamoto
Design Division, Senior Director
Active mainly in the design and direction of large commercial facilities such as department stores, he was in charge of sales floor environment design for the Hankyu Umeda Main Store reconstruction project, overall direction for Nishinomiya Hankyu, and design of the 3rd and 4th floors for the entire Ginza Mitsukoshi store renovation. Overseas, he was in charge of the renovation of the entire DOOTA building in Seoul, the new PARKSON store in Johor Bahru, etc. In 2019, he was in charge of the design of the watch area on the 5th floor of Isetan Shinjuku, and he was the general design director of Ningbo Hankyu, which opened in 2021.

Akihisa Wakayama
Design Division, Large-scale Facility Design Department, Chief Designer
After working on the design of large-scale commercial facilities at a domestic design firm, he joined Garde in 2021.While designing mainly large commercial facilities such as department stores, he has also worked on many specialty stores. He is currently working on a wide range of projects mainly in Asia.

■Scope of work

Concept Design、Schematic Design、Design Development、Design Supervision、Lighting Design

■Property Information

Name: Yanji Department Store 6th floor (kids and living room floor)
Official opening: November 20, 2021
Location: No.608 Guangming Street, Yanji City, Jilin Province
Store area:7,567㎡ (6th floor)