Situated a three-and-a-half hour car drive east of Beijing, right on the coast of the Bohai Sea, sits Aranya, a newly developed cultural resort which in earlier days formed part of the Communist Party‘s official summer retreat. Part of the Qinhuangdao, both a bustling port city and an industrial hub, Aranya is an intentional surrealistic mirage that aims to sweep hordes of dwellers of the bustling Chinese capital who flock here off their feet. Interestingly, it’s here where cosmetics retailer HARMAY has opened the doors of yet another striking, design-led retail space. Occupying a 500 sqm. (5,382 sq.ft.) unit on the ground floor of a new Mediterranean-style residential building and faces a sleepy public square.
The store has been designed by Shanghai-based practice and longtime collaborator AIM Architecture which cleverly manipulated the spatial and optical dynamic of the square by erecting a mirror wall right in front of the store. The volume not only marks the store’s presence in a striking way, but also reflecting the square and anyone passing by. Additionally, a configuration of reflective pillars of different heights sits across on the square and ties in with the wall. The premises have been fully stripped, and a book and magazine area are the first thing shoppers encounter when entering. Steel paper storage racks and imperfect concrete brick and slab tables firmly emulate the store as a pop-up venue.
Inside The brand’s standard warehouse racks and reused display units are simply organized through the space. Windows have been filled with bricks or glass where light and visibility is needed. In some openings, steel order and pick up booths are inserted in wall openings, making a connection with a teastand inside, managed by affiliated brand introlemons. Here, quietly behind the wall, shoppers can sit back, sip and ponder of their next purchase. The HARMAY pop-up store carries the brand’s own line of cosmetics fragrances, but also a selection of products from a wide range of exclusive foreign brands, including Dermalogica, Botanist, Orezza, Rose et Marius and SG79|STHLM.
HARMAY
Bei Guangchang (Aranya)
066002 Qinhuangdao
Daily 10am-10pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
