"The design of the Camper showroom in Shanghai was inspired by the urban context of its surroundings. Its spacial qualities and its vibrancy are very characteristic of life in a typical Shanghai alleyway, known locally as a 'nong-tang'. The entrance from the street extends right into the showroom area - producing a physical cross-section of the building, as if it were an area of a house, which creates a meeting space that can also be used to hold presentations and conferences. A mirrored-surface at the end of the entrance way creates the impression of a much longer cross-sectional area, and gives the idea of the newly constructed building having been inserted into the old industrial warehouse". Neri and Hu
The building structure is made from reclaimed wooden frames sourced locally, and grey bricks used as filler material. The reclaimed wood comes from demolished houses in the alleyways and reveals its origins and the passage of time through the patina of paint, newspapers and painted papers that remain stuck onto the frames. A skylight adds to the feeling of being in an outside alleyway, and throughout the day long linear shadows are cast by the shoes hanging from it. Many of the furniture pieces were designed specially for this project by Neri&Hu, such as: the shelving, a special-edition "Solo" seat in red and the "Lazy Susan" table in the pressroom.
Lyndon Neri (Philippines, 1965) y Rossana Hu (Taiwan, 1968) are the representatives for the contemporary Chinese design firm. They were trained as architects at the Universities of Harvard and Princeton respectively, and they met when they were both working in the offices of Michael Graves, where Lyndon worked for ten years. In 2002, they moved to Shanghai to construct the Three On The Bund project for the famous American architect. Two years later they set up their own multi-disciplinary studio there. It is called NHDRO (Neri&Hu Design and Research Office), and they are currently working on projects that span Asia, Europe and the USA. Lyndon and Rossana - Neri and Hu - also promote and host the best international designs in China through their Design Republic stores.
