If the sky is the limit, outer space might offer the solution. We’re talking the sci-fi setting of Holiland‘s newest outpost in Shanghai. As of late, the Chinese pastry chain has joined the ranks of experiential retail with a string of evocative, design-led retail spaces, and this one is no exception. Dubbed Holiland Travel, it occupies a spacious 396 sqm. (4,263 sq.ft.) unit on the second floor of the Super Brand Mall in the Lujiazui area of town and features an interior design by local architecture practice StudioLite. For this new outpost, the design team picked Future Narrativism in the Multiverse as the design theme, indeed a highly abstract one, but it hints the exploration of infinite time, and might even be used as a metaphor for mankind’s most primitive collective aspirations.
Using an elaborate and eclectic material palette which includes 3D-printing, poured acrylic, electroplating metal, microcement, terrazzo, stainless steel and custom hyperbolic screen modules, a series of futuristic settings have been created for Holiland Travel that wouldn’t look out of place in an intergalactic space ship, such as a meteorite bar, a suspension engine and cylinder-encased seats. Part of the theme is a space-time ‘crack’ of the multiverse that flashes in the real world, and this distortion of space leads to an uneven perception of time. The infinite extension of the linear light strip, a very visible element across the premises, explains the cosmic gravity of the strong wormhole. Through the outside observation porthole, shoppers can see the scene fragments of different time and space and pull people into the imagination of walking in the multiverse.
You still with us? Good. At the core of the understated setting sits an intricately constructed installation which represents a ‘black hole’ which links the multiverse and Earth which can transport aircraft and meteorites to supply energy from other dimensions. A suspended circular LED screen features footage of the invasion of foreign meteorites. The evocative narrative is further captured by meteorites, either decorative or functional as part of furnishings, multiple LED screens, shiny displays laden with pastries, and last but not least, a backlit window seating section with ample views of the nearby Oriental Pearl Tower. The new Holiland Travel store stocks the brand’s full range of cakes, pastries, cookies and candy.
Holiland Travel
Super Brand Mall, 168 Lujiazui Xi Lu, Second Floor
200092 Shanghai
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.
