Nome Archive Cosmetic Store by Atelier XY.

Shanghai-based studio Atelier xy has completed Nome Archive, an innovative cosmetics store located in Guangzhou, China. Inspired by its name, the design team referenced relevant visual elements of an archive and combined them with architectural theory to create an interior that fits the Nome ethos. The resulting retail space is experienced as an archive, with the product collection transformed from a documentary and collecting function to a display of design-inspired goods.

“When thinking of archives, the most obvious visual sign is the neatly organized shelves of great scale… Traditionally, an archive is used by professional institutions or individuals to record documents and collections mostly for research or cultural dissemination,” says the design team. “According to this, we’ve treated the retail space as an archive where the collection is transformed from its original function of collecting and storing, to displaying well-designed goods.”

Underpinned by three guiding architectural principles of form, space and order, the volume of the store is subdivided based on the existing axial grid of the building. The triangular central area is the core of the design and divides the shop into three zones — the central area, the clothing area and the beauty area.

The large volume of shelving is arranged in descending order from the outside to the inside, from high to low, according to the axes, giving a sense of order from any angle. As customers move between the shelves, they naturally move towards the cashier counter due to the flow of the racks. Two sides of the containers are coloured in yellow and blue respectively. As the customers walk through the space, the props may appear in different colours from different angles. The rhythm of the space is thus created.

Related: HARMAY Chengdu Flagship by AIM Architecture.

“The biggest challenge for us in this project was to organise and store thousands of products in an orderly manner,” explains the team. “The highlighted products are placed in the prime viewing areas of the cabinets, while the storage features were placed at the top and bottom of the container where they were not easily accessible to customers.”

‘Things fitting perfectly into other things’ is a series of art installations by Swedish artist Michael Johansson, who’s obsessed with the regularity and coincidences between objects that may only be linked by a common colour and shape. Atelier xy have taken inspiration from Johansson’s work on ‘obsessive-compulsive disorder’ and ‘cleanliness’ to find a breakthrough in integrating the tens of thousands of product types in the Nome Archive, neatly displaying goods that fall under 15 categories and 1,750 product types, with a total storage capacity of 32,000 items.

The overall lighting atmosphere of the store is divided into 2 main tones: warm and intimate in the central area highlighting the products, and more modern lighting in the clothing and beauty areas with bespoke strip luminaires to showcase the curved lines of the ceiling. The space, props, displays and lighting all form the key elements of the new branding concept for the Nome Archive.

Related: Real-Life Tetris Sculptures by Michael Johansson.

[Images courtesy of Atelier xy. Photography by Wen Studio.]