Project: MASSminors
Location: No.8 Huachen Road, Huachen Road, Guangzhou, China
Year: 2021
Area: 128m²
Architects: One Fine Day Studio & Partners (http://www.ofdsp.com/)
Lead Architect: Junpeng LI
Design Team: Rei SU, Chun-jie HE, Hao LIANG, Yong-jie LAO
With 128-square-meter of internal space, architects Ofd conceived — “shop in shop” — a sketchy requirement of the client into a trio consisting of MASS Lobby, Leap Tunnel and minors Lounge, three stages with mixing design narratives and multifold space-time settings. Harmonizing with each other’s singular design style, the trio acts as a bold visual manifesto to the space’s genius loci — innovative and unique.
Naming the project with a pair of antonyms, Ofd embedded a dual meaning in it. One is to imply base wines and specialty cocktails deriving from them, and what’s more important is to integrate this dialectical name with MASSminors’ design, epitomizing intricate notions the architects aims to compose: gathering and dispersal of people, conflicts of different opinions, styles about to go beyond boundary, confronting of chaos and order, and the unbalance of time and space.
Based on above concepts, MASS Lobby and minors Lounge embrace with distinct design characteristics, while Leap Tunnel, an intermezzo corridor with fewer commercial functions, is branded as an arts hub. MASS Lobby is a minimal box structure zone with nods to Eastern European architecture of the Space Age. By contrast, minors Lounge presents a classical age scene, weaving a mix of original pieces and adaptations of iconic designs. To bridge the new and the old world, the L-shaped tunnel is divided into two parts — a stonewall corridor inspired by Olafur Eliasson’s artwork “Contact” and a clock tunnel which resembles the look of a space capsule.
Throughout the three distinct volumes, Ofd sought to break the visual monotony of each space and subtly enhance their cohesion. Hence, rather than decorated walls or ceilings with paintings, the team deployed provocative three-dimensional installations which follow the same logic of contrasting with context.
More than crafting a trendy social place to lead local pub culture, Ofd aspires to create a space with ample storytelling and interaction, greeting guests with novel and dynamic experience.