Influenced by the Industrial Revolution and Information Age, this mixed-use space in Shanghai brings an IT-shaped future world into the present.
Chinese firm Powerlong Group recently opened Ideas Lab – a shopping, research, office and exhibition space in Shanghai, where their customers can come to experience the future of unmanned electronic retail.
The Group, whose business interests include real estate, industry, information, hospitality, culture, and the arts, hired renowned architect Li Xiang and her team at X+Living to create a bold, mixed-use hub that would better connect the company with the public, while serving as a metaphor for the Age of Technology.
Housed within Powerlong Commercial Centre – a roughcast, standalone, commercial building in Shanghai’s Minhang district – the 1,100m 2 space was developed into a two-level hub for both the company’s employees, and the public.
Powerlong researchers and office staff work, interact, and share ideas with each other on the upper level, while visitors can walk around the lower level to experience a purely electronic retail environment.
According to Li, the design for the Lab was informed by themes from the Industrial Revolution and the Information Age.
The goal was to physically manifest the zeitgeist of our IT age, and to provide an incubator and community hub where people can exchange ideas and experience first-hand the future of IT.
This story is from the Issue 105 edition of d+a.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 105 edition of d+a.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Tailored For The Curious Explorer
The new Alma House at the New Bahru enclave reflects the collaborative spirit of a school environment.
Eco And Egalitarian
Can a building represent a culture? Berrel Kräutler Architekten's sensitive renovation of the Embassy of Switzerland in Singapore stimulates discourse.
Building A Green Home
This semi-detached house by Zivy Architects explores passive tropical design, the delight in architecture and the issues of multi-generational living.
The Natural Balance
Inspired by the serene beauty of dewdrops, the Antao Collection by Villeroy & Boch transforms bathrooms into wellness sanctuaries, combining sustainability with timeless elegance.
Inspiring Creativity And Exploration
The new Hafary House at Lavender reflects the brand’s vibrancy and innovation, as well as provide an inspiring and engaging space for customers.
Home Is Where The Heart Is
A vacation house is reimagined for a multi-generational family to gather for holidays in the bucolic setting of Yongjia in Zhejiang, China.
balancing act: nature and humanity
In this inspiration-led series, we asked Jay Liu and Alex Liu, co-founders of Right Angle Studio, to dream up a unique interior concept using mainly items from Space Furniture.
rethinking, remaking, reframing
Aoki Akio, the founder of DESIGNART TOKYO discusses the importance and legacy of Tokyo's eminent art and design event, particularly for young creatives.
rebuilding communities
Shift2024, the much-anticipated conference returns with a stellar line-up of prolific architects making their mark in Asian urban design.
unparalleled italian craftsmanship
Filippo Arnaboldi, Chief Executive Officer of Frette, tells us how this luxury lifestyle Italian brand is moving forward with times yet not forgetting about its existing legacy.
