RUOHAN is a high-end contemporary womenswear brand which was founded only three years ago by Chinese designer Ruohan Nie. Inspired by travel, art and design, the brand targets a sophisticated demographic with a minimalist aesthetic and a neutral colour palette. As of late, the brand has teamed up with Hangzhou-based concept store B1OCK to opening a collaborative shop. Dubbed Sliced B1OCK / Framed Store, the retail space is situated smack in the middle of the OōEli complex, a large-scale urban development project designed by acclaimed Italian architect Renzo Piano, comprising a collection of mixed-use buildings surrounding a lush landscaped urban park with a large pond. Amidst the complex a sleek pavilion with an oversized, slightly tilted glass ceiling has been erected which is not only sheltered but also punctuated by trees.
Designed by architects Baoer Wang and Josh Ren of Studio Profile, a design practice based in Shanghai, an almost meditative configuration of robust monolithic granite volumes emerge within the Sliced B1OCK / Framed Store construction, demarcating not only the store’s dimensions, but also serving as a boundary of the contrasting gravel floor in a matching hue. Each of the volume has been carefully arranged to contain a different function, such as cashier, changing room, storage, and display units. Mind you, the harmony and very essence of the Sliced B1OCK / Framed Store design is anchored by the floor, which through cutting, stacking, and polishing, reveals the material’s coarse-grained texture formed by centuries of tectonic activity. The intricately designed configuration provides shoppers an exceptional spatial experience while navigating the shop. © superfuture
Sliced B1OCK / Framed Store
OōEli, 398 Tianmushan Lu (Xihu)
310005 Hangzhou
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.
