Designed for HARMAY in Shanghai, the VIP lounge places circularity at the centre of the spatial concept. Created for member hospitality, product launches and brand takeovers, it transforms discarded packaging and logistics materials from the beauty supply chain into floors, surfaces, furniture and display elements, offering an alternative to the polished language of cosmetics retail interiors.
The project re-centres what is usually hidden: packaging, transport residue and recycled matter. Rather than treating these materials as waste, Atelier INDJ turns them into visible parts of the visitor experience, inviting a reconsideration of value, use and regeneration.
At the entrance, a roughly painted circular ring on rubber wall panels is activated by a robotic arm that emits ultraviolet light. As the arm moves, the photosensitive surface briefly turns blue, leaving a trace of its previous position. This kinetic installation, UV TRACE, introduces the project’s core idea from the threshold: discarded matter can be reactivated and transformed.
In the main lounge, crushed cosmetic packaging is embedded in the resin floor like fossils. Foam, cardboard and plastic bags are incorporated directly into walls, furniture and display surfaces, with their creases, edges and stacking relationships left visible. Hand-hammered steel and torn poster textures are set against projected patterns and code, bringing nostalgic traces of labour into dialogue with contemporary digital systems.
Designed for flexibility, the space shifts between lounge, retail display and event use through movable walls, rising display tables, concealed bar functions, and integrated lighting and projection systems.