Background
Anfu Lu in Shanghai’s French Concession is one of the busiest areas with a culture of café, retail and residential life. The tree-lined streets of old colonial buildings are a popular place for strolling, exploring and taking photographs.
The owner of Absolute Flowers, Ms. Jing, has an instinctive and timeless love for flowers inspired by her first glimpse of a boutique when she was a child. She established Absolute Flower Shop in 2012 and over the past 8 years, the boutique has created many stunning works of art based on her philosophy of "exquisite, tasteful and ingenious". These works explore the boundaries between the natural and the artificial, often presenting the flowers in surreal yet magical displays.When we first and saw these works presented in a white space, we were interested in the contrast, how a neutral background becomes an essential element in the presentation.
The new flower shop is located the ground floor of an old house and is comprised of a series of cellular spaces which open up to a large garden at the rear. MDO conceived the design as a linear journey of reveal, where each space creates a unique engagement with the flower arrangements and the viewer.
MDO’s intervention is conceived as a series of insertions into the old fabric. Cool stainless steel frames contrasting with the rough texture of the existing Shanghai wall.
The design is split into 3 elements:
Street gallery + artificial landscape + secret garden
Gallery
One first encounters the shop from the street through gallery, viewed through a small shop window. This window dates back from a time where the local community could buy day to day goods through the small window directly off the street, directly connecting the community to the interior. This practice no longer occurs, but we wanted to reference this practice by creating a gallery viewed solely from the street, which will present an evolving series of installations made only of the flowers available at the time of the year. Each window becomes a framed painting of another world, a scene connected to the seasons.
The rear of the space is one way mirror, hiding the spaces within, and allowing the viewer to see themselves in the reflection with the flower installation.
Entering from the street the viewer passes beside the gallery where the light comes solely from a digital screen showing the previous flower creations. This digital moment, an acknowledgement to how we now consumedesign, creates a palette cleanse before experiencing the real plants within.
Artificial Landscape
The main heart of the shop was conceived as an artificial landscape, a neutral terrain to contrast with the flower installations. A subdued palette of bush hammered stone and brushed stainless steel boxes rise up through the space providing different height plinths for flower display.
Artist Studio
A private studio connects to the main gallery where the owner has space to work on large scale installations. The studio is connected to the garden through a large existing wrought iron window, which allows guests a glimpse of the new creations as they pass outside.
Secret Garden
The main studio opens out onto the secret garden, a generous 100sqm space unique in Shanghai. The garden is a place of relaxation, where the owner can enjoy tea with her friends. There was an existing tree which we wanted to use a shelter, so the design uses an L-shaped bench which wraps the tree, creating a quiet oasis in the heart of the city. The seating area is designed as series of planes, where the verticality of the tree is balanced by a water feature and low level planting area.
Sound &Memory
We designed with sound and memory, the crunch underfoot on the gravel path reminds the designer of long lazy summers spent at his grandmother’s country house in the UK.The gentle trickle of water, evokes the sound of peace and tranquility.
