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Ms MIN Retail Space is a continuous integration of elements: form with formless, masculine with feminine, yin with yang

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Retail  /  Completed
Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Textile literally means 'that which has been woven,' derived from the Latin word 'texere', which means 'to weave'. Before the Industrial Revolution, textiles were made by hand in villages across China by individual families; carding, spinning and weaving all took place in farmhouses, indeed a loom could be found in every well-conditioned homestead. While the textile industry has certainly evolved over centuries, the traditions and original spirit of textile-making are kept alive. Neri&Hu harkens back to the notion of a traditional fabric atelier, showcasing craftsmanship, rich materiality, and a domestic sensibility.

Launched in 2011 by Liu Min, MSMIN is a young fashion brand that places emphasis on fabric and fit. For their shop in Taikoo Li, one of Shanghai’s most popular retail destinations. Neri&Hu covered up part of the original facade, the interior retains a good light environment, while strengthening the long window as a symbolic image.The exterior facade is quite simple but strong. It stands out of the ‘messy’ surrounding. The long window shapes like the Chinese character “Yi”(一), which perfectly match the spirit of Ms MIN.

For either architecture or clothing, design is always people-oriented. Ms MIN believes that the purpose of clothing design is never about executing the superimposition of ornamental elements, but about responding and corresponding to the cycle of nature. The designer uses simplicity to tailor-make something really needed by body and soul and clothing to offer enlightenment, innocence and freedom so that the wearers can wander around our universe in an unrestricted manner thanks to the "man-clothing oneness”. Likewise, how Neri&Hu deals with architectural design centers on the harmonious co-existence and fusion people, body, space, nature and culture.

Entering into the shop, the space is divided into several zones. To the right, the House is expressed as a wooden structure with overhanging eaves, and serves as a reception up front and studio area inside. Along the windows to the left, the same wooden structures form an open grid with cloths hanging in between as lightweight partitions. Natural daylight and the chaos of the shopping mall are filtered by the sheer fabric screens, giving the space an overall sense of calmness. Between the House and the wooden cloth racks lies an internal courtyard paved in a traditional way, using curved roof tiles stacked and inlaid. A series of panels are arranged in the courtyard, forming interconnected yet distinct exhibition spaces which can be re-arranged and interchanged to suit various motifs for every season, as fashion is always fast-paced and evolving. Neri&Hu’s custom mannequin figures for MSMIN are made with linen, a material that gives a skin-like subtle texture.

Ms MIN and Neri&Hu are two design brands that have been quietly mirroring paths for more than 10 years, cultivating self-assured identities characterized by the notion of beauty, simplicity and ease. Their expression is a continuous integration of elements - form with formless, masculine with feminine, yin with yang.

Credits

 Shanghai
 China
 Ms MIN
 01/2022
 198 sq. m
 Confidential
 Neri&Hu Design and Research Office
 Partners-in-charge: Lyndon Neri, Rossana Hu; Associate: Sanif Xu; Design team: Muyang Tang, Zhikang Wang, Amber Shi, Yoki Yu
 Shanghai Yali Design Decoration Co., Ltd.
 Lighting: Viabizzuno (Shanghai)
 Zhu Runzi

Curriculum

Founded in 2004 by partners Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office is an inter-disciplinary architectural design practice based in Shanghai. The practice’s burgeoning global portfolio includes commissions ranging from master planning and architecture, to interior design, installation, furniture, product, branding and graphic works. Currently working on projects in many countries, Neri&Hu is composed of multi-cultural staff who speak over 30 different languages. The diversity of the team reinforces a core vision for the practice: to respond to a global worldview incorporating overlapping design disciplines for a new paradigm in architecture.

Neri&Hu’s location is purposeful. With Shanghai considered a new global frontier, Neri&Hu is in the immediate center of this contemporary chaos. The city’s cultural, urban, and historic contexts function as a point of departure for design inquiries that span across a wide spectrum of scales.


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