Celebrating the Art of Balance
Curves, foliage and natural materials characterise the Green Experience Pavilion, a contemporary health store and wine bar in Foshan. We speak with designer Myron Kwan of Hong Kong-based M.R. Studio to find out more about the project
Design Anthology: How did you first meet the client?
Myron Kwan: The client is actually a friend of my sister’s. One day when she was chatting with my sister, she admitted that she wasn’t satisfied with her shop’s current interior design. My sister recommended me, so the client reviewed my portfolio and background and decided to hire me to redesign her shop.
What’s unique about the building and the location?
This project is located in Nanguo Taoyuan, in the Nanhai district of Foshan, China. The space has a large open area and plenty of fresh air, though it was originally actually a restaurant storeroom.
What was the brief to you for the project?
The client wanted to divide the shop into two areas: one for displaying and selling health products, and the other for wine. They wanted to combine these two seemingly unrelated things to create a new lifestyle/concept store.
What design references or narrative did you try to incorporate into the space?
On our first site visit I saw that the area was planted with coconut trees and had a very tropical feel to it. I immediately imagined the space as a kind of residential urban resort, where we’d have an open kitchen for catering, a salon area for wine tastings, and an outdoor area for relaxing and socialising. Given the space’s small and narrow proportions, the biggest design challenge lay in creating a unique experience that’s different from traditional health shops that only display and sell health products. We aimed to create a calming space that reminds guests of their own living rooms, and the primary intention is to allow guests to relax with friends and enjoy the fine wines on offer. A variety of health products are displayed in the arches of the oak feature wall so guests can browse at their leisure.
Please tell us a little about the material choices for the space.
The client is also involved in the aluminium door and window business, so he wanted to incorporate some of their products. We chose oak, wood, glass and marble to create a soothing, natural colour palette.
Please tell us about some of the custom pieces for the space.
The facade design draws on the beauty of geometry, with the repetition of arches promoting the notion of perfect balance — this is then repeated inside with the arched display shelves.
As told to / Suzy Annetta
Images / Steven Ko
