An Experiential Bakery in a Historic Hutong
Shanghai-based studio Some Thoughts restored this Qing dynasty building in Chengdu’s historic Kuanzhai Alley into an experiential retail space for local bakery Holiland. Here studio founder Jingze Li share more about his approach to the project
Design Anthology: Who is the client and what was their brief to you for this project?
Jingze Li: The client is a local bakery chain call Holiland. For this project, they sought to create a new experiential retail destination in a historical area. The space was to be renovated to create a fresh design, with clear visual identification and good circulation for retail.
What’s great about the neighbourhood and what makes the location unique?
The 240-square-metre store is in Chengdu’s Kuanzhai Alley, in a traditional building dating from the Qing dynasty. The walls of the building retained traces of several restorations, dating from the Qing dynasty all the way to now.
How did you approach the project — what narrative did you try to incorporate into the space?
We aspired to create a modest and modern retail space that embodies Holiland’s brand identity. The narrative we tried to incorporate into the project was ‘reinventing tradition’. Following this idea, we complemented existing elements of the building with eye-catching materials selected to pay tribute to the building’s traditional architecture.
Can you tell us more about the material choices for the space?
From the very beginning, we chose glass as a dominant material as its manufacturing process reminds of the baking process of Holiland’s bread — turning a liquid material into a delicate object through heating and cooling. We then crafted glass bricks to echo Kuanzhai Alley’s distinctive brick architecture.
Can you tell us about some of the custom pieces for the space?
In keeping with traditional Chinese conventions, we incorporated a few industrial elements into the space, including fan-shaped circular installations, acrylic carved plaques and screen-like door handles.
What is your favourite design element in the architecture or interiors?
Here the glass tiles are both an element of traditional architecture and a filter through which light enters the store. As the day goes by, the translucid tiles diffuse light into the space and create an ever-changing juxtaposition with the rough materials in the store.
What other features are you most excited about?
In the courtyard at the entrance of the store, we kept a plum tree that has been there for hundreds of years. Although the tree was damaged during construction, it has healed over time; preserving the tree was a lengthy process, and we had to sacrifice some of the aisle space in the store, but we think it was worth it in terms of the tree’s significance for the space.
Images / Shao Feng
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