A Conversation with Zhi Xiong Chan of ZXC Studio
The young designer studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and went on to work with design luminaries like Kengo Kuma, Klein Dytham and Universal Design Studio before setting up his own Bali-based practice. We had the chance to speak with him about his design of multi-brand boutique Escalier in the Potato Head Beach Club complex in Seminyak, Bali
Design Anthology: How did you meet the client?
Zhi Xiong Chan: We first met through friends of mine from London who were living in Bali, producing clothes for their fashion brand. When I came to visit we ended up at a dinner gathering together. A few years later I moved to Bali to work on some projects and the timing matched with their plans to renovate Escalier.
What was her brief for the store?
The general purpose of the renovation was to realign the store’s design with a coherent identity; over the years the space had been filled with elements that, while necessary, meant it had had grown out of sync with any overarching theme. The client was open to proposals in terms of look, feel and concept.
How did you approach the design?
I designed the store to showcase Escalier’s eclectic and diverse collection. Many of the clothes feature colourful graphic prints and intricate detailing and patterns, so to accentuate the products we reduced the interior fixtures to very simple forms.
The store has a deep footprint and it was important to utilise its full length. Plinth displays are arranged along the centre, with hanging rails along each flanking wall. The linearity is emphasised by the lightbox that runs the central length of the ceiling. Customers are instinctively drawn deeper into the space to engage with each display. The suspended rails along the perimeter and fully glazed frontage also mean the clothing is visible from the walkway outside.
Please tell us a little about the material choices for the space.
During the design process, the construction of Potato Head’s new hotel (neighbouring the existing complex) was underway. Designed by OMA, the hotel features a distinctive red-pigmented concrete on its facade, of which there was a lot of waste rubble generated from structural tests and demolition. We developed samples using this waste rubble within a cement base, which was then was applied to the walls, floor and display tables in the store. On the vertical plane, the walls and columns are peppered with small, rough fragments of rubble, creating a subtle backdrop to the hanging products. By contrast, the floor is polished smooth and boldly patterned with larger fragments of red concrete against an off-white background. The display plinths exhibit a range of scales in the rough, textured rubble and the colour of the base cement alternates between grey and white. Their tops are capped in natural teak, bringing hints of warmth back into the space.
In contrast to the ground plane, which is densely textured with repurposed construction waste, the ceiling is handcrafted in natural materials and floats lightly above the space. A grid of woven rattan panels spans the surface, punctuated by the large lightbox. The rattan weave (developed with BYO Living) visually fragments the ceiling, its porosity engendering a sense of weightlessness. The weave’s abstract geometric pattern resonates with the decorative textiles in Escalier’s collection.
The lightbox is surfaced in washi paper and transmits soft light onto the displays below. Handmade at the workshop of Bali-based artisan Naruse Kiyoshi, the washi is made from banana plant fibres, which subtly manifest in the surface texture.
The bold patterning and rough textured rubble resonates with the street-inspired, audacious attitude of Escalier’s collection, while the locally handmade rattan and banana fibre washi ceiling root the store to its setting in Bali.
As told to / Suzy Annetta
Images / Chris Bunjamin
