Classical to Cubist: OSC Boutique by Xframe Studio.

Somewhere, tucked away on an ordinary street in Xiong An, Hebei Province, China, is a masterpiece, waiting to be unfurled. The composition is clear from the outset, with the linear framework of the facade setting the spatial intent in stone. However, once inside the linear moves from the classical to the cubist and we’re introduced to the organic and soft.

OSC boutique is a retail space, but not as you know it. Made in the image of the living room, this lounge-like setting becomes the perfect canvas for a contemporary curation of forms.

Once inside, the space is bathed in light, and the soft glow of the elliptical installations in the ceiling create an immediate sense of comfort.

Surreal Classicism: Maó Space by One Fine Day Studio & Partners.

Projects that strike me the most are the ones that manage to masterfully shift our perception of time. Spaces that feel unique because they look like they don’t belong in the present, nor the past.

From here, this light bounces off the various mirrors placed throughout, all in abstract shapes, as if pieces from a larger puzzle. These cut-out shapes are further reflected in the furniture pieces that make up this retail living room, as we see a stone table with a scalloped leg, a chair with a zig/zag cross-section and a volcanic rock-esque table with a steel insert grace the gridwork of tiled floors. There is warmth, however, in this overtly white space, with mid-century modern hues introduced via the timber-clad columns and casework, further defined by the couch and coffee table. As with any cubist artwork, the sharper lines are complemented and offset with plush, soft furnishings that bring us back to the comfort of the living room, heightening the shopping experience.

Slightly off centre to the nucleus of the space is the pièce de résistance (in my opinion, anyway), the crooked column that dares to collapse at any moment, with its honky tonk swaying from side to side, as if constructed from paper. This paper-like pylon is perfectly placed on a white pedestal, an artwork in itself, all the while serving a serious structural purpose.

Retro-futuristic Audrey Boutique by Liang Architecture Studio.

With graceful curves and sharp geometric elements, this distinctly retro-futuristic design by Liang Architecture Studio is an otherworldly playground. Audrey boutique in Hangzhou is simple yet expressive, teetering between the past and future.

Elsewhere, we see remnants of the walls that once were, framed portraits cut out of the new structure, the artist having left the canvas exposed and untainted. This serves another purpose, further softening the clean-lined contemporary white space with its robust realness.

Brushed steel elements have their place, too, most notably in the creation of the sculptural staircase with its Escher-like frame, a negative cast of the risers behind, resulting in a positive effect. It’s all very runway, and one can almost imagine new season Prada-clad models dancing between the Georges Braque-esque layout of it all. Muccia herself could be seen comfortably sitting on one of the more rotund lounges, proving that this living room isn’t reserved for bored boyfriends only.

Past Meets Present Meets Future: A Clothing Boutique in Guangzhou by TOMO Design.

In Guangzhou, China, is a clothing boutique that channels Dr. Who—minus the spaceship. The retail space—the first physical destination for a vintage clothing brand—transports visitors through transcendental realms of space and time, spurring the clock back and forth (and back again) and blurring the line between past, present and future.

[Images courtesy of Xframe Studio. Photography by Yuuuunstudio.]