YANXU Buyer’s Store refurbished by Basistudio is located on 8th and 9th floors in Han Zhengjie Brand Fashion Wholesale Center, a famous local wholesale market for decades in Wuhan city.
The store site is consisted of two separate, non-connecting levels. Basistudio drew the inspiration from "sewing" in the process of clothing manufacturing and vertically stitched the upper and lower floors together. Based on the modular logic between beams and columns, designer inserted two vertical volumes between the structural beams, one containing fitting and office spaces, and the other incorporating staircase and storage. Spaces and openings are carved and punched out from the vertical volumes. The two-story facade facing the mall atrium features a modular arrangement that maximizes visibility, intending to unify the two independent levels into a cohesive architectural surface.
Through the transparent facade, the interior merchandise and the vertical volumes that connect the two levels are fully visible from the public area outside. The gaps between these volumes and the original slab create visual connections between the upper and lower floors, as well as between the inside and outside.
The warm vertical volumes contain two different textures—smooth(carved space) and rough(the surface). Brushed stainless steel is used not only on the facade which serves like showcase but also on customized fixtures include mobile and wall-mounted clothes hanging rails, handrails, mirrors and door handles. Warm wood is also used on customized furniture such as cashier table, display cabinets and benches to enrich functions and vitalize the space.