Kokaistudios

In 2014, Kokaistudios won an international architectural and interior design competition to build the Law Library of Tsinghua University in Beijing. Comprising a trio of functions - research, teaching, and office space - the building recalls both traditional printing blocks, as well as the Chinese capital’s signature hutongs and courtyards. Defined and connected by a series of voids, it is a striking addition to this most prestigious of campuses. Conceived as one of a group of buildings, it was important that Kokaistudios’ new 20,000 sqm structure complemented the already defined thematic landscape of sunken areas, and both open and closed walkways. With this in mind, “duality” is central to the new library building. The facility’... More

After winning global acclaim for both K11 in Shanghai, as well as Beijing's COFCO Plaza, Kokaistudios once again brings its expertise in shopping mall renovation to China’s increasingly lifestyle-driven retail scene. The firm's recent renovation of Shimao Festival City in Shanghai illustrates this contemporary crossroads, and demonstrates how by expanding malls’ functionality and reconsidering circulation, these sizeable structures can be reabsorbed by the city as useful public spaces of engagement and exchange.Built in 2006, Shimao Festival City is a modern monument of Shanghai. Comprising retail, hotel and office space, it is located at the top of Shanghai’s famous East Nanjing Road shopping street, with views across nearby People’s Squar... More

Kokaistudios is an award winning architecture and interior design firm founded in 2000 in Venice by Italian architects Filippo Gabbiani & Andrea Destefanis.Headquartered in Shanghai since 2002, they have grown into multi-cultural firm of 60 people working on a global scale with projects in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America. Kokaistudios partners with their clients to collaboratively develop innovative & ground breaking projects in diverse fields of design.Primarily focused on developing cultural, corporate, commercial, hospitality & retail projects, the firm has also worked extensively on urban regeneration projects involving the requalification of heritage locations.Kokaistudios aims to develop projects that add p... More

Opened in late 2017, Le Meridien Shenyang is an ode to both the mid-century modern roots of Le Meridien brand and to the city of Shenyang itself; both in terms of its historical significance as the one-time capital of China’s last dynasty, the Qing, and also its location in the North-East of China with its four distinct seasons. Searching to create a timeless design in which art and graphics would play a principal role, Kokaistudios began the design process with the creation of a sophisticated materials palette inspired by the traditional colors and textures of the region’s forests and by undertaking a detailed topographical study of the current and historical maps of the city together with Beijing-based artists Instant Hutong. The outcome... More

Kokaistudios is delighted to announce the opening of our most recent project with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts; the Sintoho Asian fine dining restaurant located on the top floor of the newly built Four Seasons Kuwait in the Burj Alshaya building. Having previously worked together on the Brasserie at the Four Seasons Kyoto the Four Seasons team invited Kokaistudios to conceive an innovative F&B destination that could elevate the street foods of the cities of Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong into a fine dining destination and experience.Intrigued by the concept and the location in a city with no established tradition of Asian fine dining we set about creating a temple to Asian cuisine and craftsmanship that eschewed kitschy and themati... More

After extensive research and study, Kokaistudios in cooperation with the developer Portman Holdings and master architect John Portman & Associates developed an architectural renovation and restoration strategy that maintained the architectural integrity of the heritage “shikumen” lane houses while tastefully altering the internal layout to allow them to transform them from their original functions as houses into individual guest suites. The extensive restoration project covering both the interiors and the facades of the buildings together with the internal courtyards. The project presented many challenges but armed with a solid experience gained both in Europe and in China of undertaking complex adaptive re-use project and working... More