ENJOYING THE ART
OF LIFESTYLE CHOICES

Antony Chan‘s design the interior of the Z Store in Beijing, which sells upscale designer products, included the store’s name, logo, and initial advertising material. The design deliberately creates dramatically dark, mysterious interior spaces in which individual products are displayed and lit as precisely as exhibits in an art gallery or museum. The black marble floors, midnight-blue wall tiles and pointing, and the slatted ceilings remove virtually all visual clutter, so that the products are always centre-stage.

Antony Chan and Cream designed the interior of the Z Store in Beijing, which sells upscale designer products, and also produced the store’s name, logo, and initial advertising material. The design deliberately creates dramatically dark, mysterious interior spaces in which individual products are displayed and lit as precisely as exhibits in an art gallery or museum. The black marble floors, midnight-blue wall tiles and pointing, and the slatted ceilings remove virtually all visual clutter, so that the products are always centre-stage.

The staircase is structurally dramatic, with pure glass balustrades, which makes the pale oak treads and risers highly visible, drawing the eye right into the heart of the 8000 ft2 store. Equally striking are the large images of products in illuminated frames which can be seen inside the store, and from the street – an inside-outside design move which greatly strengthens the image of the Z Store as a gallery of artfully presented, high-value designer products.