Dark blue light gives the space a certain character giving a universal flow of energy. In addition, with it the lights and shadows of the establishment stand out, giving importance to the vertical element with more intense lighting.
The Pop-up Shop by Beijing Wuxiang Space Architecture Design Studio. Photograph by Rock.
Description of project by WUUX
Wang Yong: Moving a Perpetual Motion Machine Into the Pop-up Shop of Zhima Health.
In November 2021, the circular counter of the pop-up shop of Zhima Health at Zhengda Center was lit up by enchanting blue light with a gigantic installation of a perpetual motion machine placed in the center. Following his attempts at new retail and multi-dimensional metaverse in the big health industry, Wang Yong, a designer from Beijing Wuxiang Space Architecture Design Studio, challenged the design concept of traditional retail spaces with the concept of “herb lab-extraction of kinetic energy” and ignited the imagination for life energy and lifestyle in the future through the collision of the two ends represented by tradition and future.
1. Concept Installation of Energy Extraction.
Ignite the Engine of Human Body Energy.
Joining hands with Shanghai Bringidea Art Design, Beijing Wuxiang Space Architecture Design Studio created a gigantic machine installation as the soul of the shop of Zhima Health at Zhengda Center- based on the concept of “inheritance of life energy in tradition and future” and the inherent logic of “health replenishment and inheritance”.
Inspired by the automotive engine, the design borrowed the logic of power transmission from the seats of supercars of extreme power and the huge and sophisticated power system to ignite the future secret engine of human body energy.
In the vertical installation system, five types of traditional Chinese medicines in association with the concept of Five Elements in Chinese culture are placed in the light guide glass tubes, and three groups of transparent rods, three transmission motors, and the brass mechanic wheel are connected by a stainless-steel structure. The programmable LEDs emit lights from three groups of rods that revolve on their own axes at various frequencies—giving birth to a cyberpunk “tower” of endless power through extraction, transmission, replenishment, and cycle.
2. Collisions of the Two Ends
Tradition Origin and Future Imaginations.
The pop-up shop takes the installation as the central vision and incorporates several groups of circular designs: a group of four circular or quasi-circular designs deployed either on the ceiling or on the wall shrouds the space in a neat background; another group of circular designs in the form of two circles is a combination of the grey stone counter that encloses the central function area and the display space along the wall, with the former being encircled by the latter. In the middle of the inner circle is the working area of the staff, and in between the two circles is the customer area; the components of the perpetual motion machine are interlocked with one another for eternal operation.
The minimalist design has highlighted the installation of the sophisticated and complex perpetual motion machine in the central area. Following the modern exploration of Medicine Food Homology, Wang Yong takes the exploration of “source” one step further in the new space--what will the future be like with the combination of energy inheritance and health? Will the inheritance of life energy become the fundamental principle of the lifestyle of great health in the future?
As a result, the design, by means of modern technology, has made an exploration of the two ends in the space: on one end are thoughts on the Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Five Elements, and on the other are the future inheritance of life and energy. By integrating and projecting the pieces of future imaginations in the space, Wang Yong has managed to present the connection and collision of the two ends.
The prevailing dark blue light throws the space into a seeming universe background full of endless energy flow.
3. China Chic
Introduce a New Concept Scene.
In June 2022, the pop-up shop as a teaser by nature will be replaced by an official shop at Zhengda Center. By then, a new world will unfold with the disappearance of walls. As new retail brands are successively joining the discussion and research of their future blueprints, Wang Yong has expressed the “great health” concept of Zhima Health through space and then switched it from an exclusive consumption scene to more of a concept scene through design. In the meantime, the new space will enliven itself by offering effective “choices” to the new consumers who pursue health, trend, technology, and personal touch.
