Interior Designers: AIM Architecture
Area: 650 m²
Year: 2019
Photographs: Dirk Weiblen
Design Principals: Wendy Saunders, Vincent de Graaf
Project Management: Cindy Xu
Design Team: Feng Xie, Charles Liu, Eno Chen, Jiao Yan, Jovana Petrovic, Hu Chen, Mavis Li, Simon Huang
Ff&E Team: Sowon Lee, Baoer Wang, Peichin Lee
City: Beijing
Country: China
HARMAY Beijing Flagship Store, designed by AIM Architecture, spans two floors with a dramatic void for visibility. The first floor, focused on small products, features an assembly table that drives movement and creates a semi-enclosed workspace. A spiral staircase leads to the second floor, where steel shelves display a variety of products. This floor also includes a branding studio and five themed rooms, each enhancing product engagement. The store’s industrial glass brick facade conceals the interior, drawing guests into HARMAY’s immersive experience.
AIM Architecture’s design for the HARMAY Beijing Flagship Store spans two floors, featuring a dramatic void created by removing part of the ceiling for improved visibility.
The first floor focuses on small products, with a large assembly table that generates movement and showcases fast-moving items. This setup forms a cohesive loop, creating direction and momentum while providing a semi-enclosed workspace for the staff.
A spiral staircase ascends from the assembly table to the second floor, where rows of steel shelves display a wide range of products.
This floor also reveals HARMAY’s branding process, with a curtain that filters light through a translucent facade, creating a small product photography studio. This playful element highlights the behind-the-scenes effort that goes into each e-commerce listing.
The second floor also features five themed rooms designed to enhance offline sales engagement. Each room presents a specific product focus, such as the white travel kit room with see-through bags for travel essentials, a perfume bar with flower-patterned walls celebrating the power of scent
There’s a third room where visitors can try on products behind soft curtain walls, evoking a backstage dressing room atmosphere. The niche room caters to exclusive, luxury cosmetics, while the fifth room, a blank white space, invites guests to create their own experience.
All brands are moving parts that come together to create a cohesive product or experience. The Beijing location features a large glass brick facade, making an industrial statement. The lack of visibility from the outside enhances the building’s impact, relying on the allure of shadows and movement.
It’s like seeing shapes behind a curtain or hearing footsteps on a stage. Only two tiny doors provide entry, but once inside, guests become part of the show. Inside, they experience the entire world of HARMAY.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: No.2 Gongti North Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
