Bananain Concept Store in Shanghai by Some Thoughts.

Relative newcomer to the scene, Some Thoughts is a spatial design and research office founded in Shanghai by Jingze Li. Working on home turf, the team have devised the latest concept store for the apparel brand Bananain located on Shanghai’s historic Middle Huaihai Road.

With the tagline ‘Redesigning the basics’, Bananain is in the business of wardrobe essentials. Some Thoughts took this philosophy and applied it to the design approach, re-processing the objects often seen in our daily lives and changing the way they are normally applied. To do this, the team looked at the existing architecture and diverse cultural background embedded in the site to redefine its basic elements.

Orientated around a column grid, Some Thoughts set out to re-process the objects we see in our daily life and change how they are normally applied, forcing people to take note.

Perforated metal beams encased in textured glass mimic the original structural columns. Aesthetic and functional, the beams have in-built displays to showcase merchandise while creating a sense of cohesion in line with the existing columns.

The interior palette consists of a series of industrial details. Glass, concrete, steel and mirrored surfaces all add to the store’s stripped-down look and orange-hued plexiglass reinforces Bananain’s colours.

The industrial elements continue with products displayed in crates, tongue-in-cheek fitting rooms that present as wooden shipping boxes and featured walls imitating sheets of raw wood, finished in red and blue.

Related: AIM Architecture Blurs Indoor & Outdoor Boundaries at this Mini Department Store in Shanghai. 

[Images courtesy of Some Thoughts. Photography by Shao Feng.]