Mesh and paper-pulp partitions feature inside Nanjing's Shiwu store
Mesh panels dipped in paper pulp, polycarbonate and OSB timber merge to form the textured interior of this lifestyle store in Nanjing, China, designed by architecture studio CATS.
Located along a narrow alleyway next to the city's China Modern History Museum, the Shiwu store sells a selection of products handmade by Japanese craftsmen such as pottery and clothes.
According to Shanghai-based CATS, the area is largely known for its loud crowds, cheap souvenirs and fast food. In contrast, the studio wanted to create a calming retail space that's closed off from its busy surroundings.
Customers enter the store through an arched wooden door, which they pull to open.
"The gesture of pulling distinguishes the shop from its touristic neighbours," the studio said. "[The shop] reveals its internal quiet and relaxed atmosphere in an unanticipated manner."
Panels of expanded metal mesh wrap the peripheral walls of the store and, in places, extend into the space to serve as semi-transparent partitions.
Polycarbonate shelves and hooks for displaying products are hung from the mesh.
"We carefully selected a custom aperture dimension that best fits standardised hangers, so that there could be no limit in terms of where the objects or shelves could be fixed," the studio explained.
In an effort to soften the appearance of the store's metal surfaces, the architects also dipped each mesh panel in paper pulp to create a slightly webbed effect across its openin...
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