Keeping up with the Christmas spirit, Dutch firm MVRDV has given a green facelift to the new Bulgari store opened up in Shanghai Plaza 66. The dazzling green-hued facade of the luxury retailer’s new flagship store appears to be embedded with emeralds but in reality, these are recycled champagne bottles. The recycled glass panel resembles jade and is expertly encased within an art deco brass frame. Read more about the project below at SURFACES REPORTER (SR):
Also Read: Use of Recycled Materials in Architecture and Design
Facade Resembling China’s Most Precious Stone-Jade
The facade of the building takes on the materiality of fine jewelry with panels that look like China’s most precious stone. The firm drew inspiration from various things including cornice motifs used for Bulgari stores in Rome along with the art deco style that characterizes both the brand and the city.
The outcome is an intricate design, with multiple layers of cross-cultural reference including art deco style with a jewellery resemblance, merging the best of western and eastern culture. Also, the gold-color brass frame gives it a look of jade jewellery. The backlight in the facade is engineered to reduce its energy footprint. It gives an enigmatic glow at night.
Built Using 100% Circular Economy Materials
The project celebrates the use of potentially sustainable recycled materials and circular design strategies.
“The glass is completely recycled, produced at the Magna factory in Teutschenthal, Germany, which specializes in glass treatment. The project demonstrates the potential of sustainable recycled materials, even in luxury contexts, and takes one step towards MVRDV and Bulgari’s goal of store designs that are built using 100% circular economy materials,” said Jacob van Rijs, co-founder, MVRDV.
“Meanwhile the backlight is engineered to minimize the facade’s energy footprint, using less than half the energy of a typical comparable installation.”
Also Read: Rahul Jain Designed Infinity-Shaped Cafe by Using Recycled Shipping Containers | RJDL
The Fabrication Process
Leftover beer and champagne bottles are compressed and then given a wonderful translucent finish. At night, the backlight behind the glass panels gives the exterior a mesmerizing glow, underscoring the unique textural qualities of the glass.
The fashion house’s core business model revolves around sustainability, which has thus been also incorporated in the previous projects done by the firm for the brand.
The architect added, “Our collaboration with Bulgari has yielded some fascinating material experiments. It’s a passion we share with them, albeit in different design disciplines.
The Shanghai store encapsulates the value of these experiments: given the right treatment and detailing, leftover champagne and beer bottles, which would otherwise be thrown away, become a jewel for the city.”
Project Details
Project Name: Bulgari Shanghai Flagship
Architecture Firm: MVRDV
Location: Shanghai Plaza 66, China
Completion Year: December 2021
Founding partner in charge: Jacob van Rijs
Partner: Fokke Moerel
Design team: Aser Giménez OrtegaSimone CostaGiovanni NardiElien Deceuninck
Other Credits
Director MVRDV Asia: Steven Smit
MVRDV Asia team: Ruochen ZhangCarmen Xu
Copyright: MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries
Glass Manufacture: MAGNA Glaskeramic GmbH
Contractor: RICH HONOUR International Design Co., Ltd
Photographs: © Bulgari, © Xia Zhi
Source: https://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/
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