Swiss studio Herzog & de Meuron has designed the monochrome Beijing flagship store for Swedish clothing brand Toteme, which features a pleated white stone facade.
Located in the city’s Taikoo Li Sanlitun shopping complex, the 150-square-metre Toteme Beijing store opened today. Founded in 2014, the Swedish brand is known for its minimalist designs.
Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, which is led by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, the store is clad with blocks of white stone and metal layered in a pleated formation. The storefront is anchored by a glowing neon shop sign, while a 15-metre-long stone bench runs the length of the facade.
“The restrained colour and material palettes reflect Toteme’s core values and are at the same time a subtle nod to Chinese culture and craftsmanship,” studio partner Ascan Mergenthaler told Dezeen.
Inside, the monochrome interior is characterised by pleated walls and a bright white zigzagged staircase finished in lacquered steel.
Positioned at the foot of the staircase, a small cantilevered bridge was fabricated in the same gleaming material.
Herzog & de Meuron was informed by traditional Chinese gonshi – sculptural and decorative rocks – when creating the staircase, which is a regularly occurring motif in other Toteme stores worldwide.
“The raw, hollowed-out space breaks with the typical scale and proportion of a standard shop layout, creating a sense of verticality and grandness despite its small footprint,” added Mergenthaler.
At the top of the staircase, a screen airs silent films by 20th-century Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman.
In direct contrast to the white structure, floors and ceilings were created with high-gloss black lacquer wood texture.
Herzog & de Meuron created bespoke timber tables and angular white armchairs, while the studio chose cast glass for jewellery display cabinets in a nod to the rippled texture of ice and Toteme’s Scandinavian roots.
Garments hang from minimalist metal clothing rails and translucent mannequins throughout the store. Handbags and shoes are positioned like museum artefacts on subtle white plinths.
“We wanted to create something that hadn’t been done before, that played with the architecture and space itself,” said Toteme co-founder Karl Lindman.
Founded in 1978, Herzog & de Meuron recently completed blocky high-rise laboratories for the Pharma Research and Early Development Centre in Basel. Last year, the studio created a calming wood-clad children’s hospital in Zurich.
The photography is courtesy of Toteme.
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