Shishang Architecture designs a physical destination for e-commerce luxury travel startup ZANADU that offers fresh possibilities for how travellers may book and experience their vacations in time to come.
March 15th, 2017
Besides offering affluent Chinese travellers access to high-end travel products, e-commerce premium travel startup ZANADU employs a variety of digital media, such as WeChat, films, and 360-degree virtual reality (VR) videos to educate the young Chinese travel market on the different aspects of luxury vacations. For instance, VR videos enable customers to ‘experience’ destinations prior to booking them.
When offered a space at the newly-opened Shanghai Village in Shanghai, China, ZANADU recognised that its inaugural brick-and-mortar space had to expand upon the experiential vision of its online platform where innovative storytelling tools are paramount in conveying its travel offerings.
Shishang Architecture was engaged to design the 600-square-metre space. Apart from reflecting the brand’s youthful image, the designers’ challenge was to portray an online brand within a physical environment. Revolving around the concept of ‘The Travel Agency of the Future’, 20 ‘pixelated’ structures fitted with touchscreen monitors showcase popular destinations and travel stories in an interactive manner to engage visitors. The cubes stack atop one another to create a digital landscape, portraying the brand’s digital origin.
Naturally, the aesthetics of the space is technologically-driven and futuristic, yet it remains intimate and personable with the integration of welcoming colours. Five large digitally-stylised hanging structures spotlight the VR area as the central focus of the space, inviting visitors to take a seat and begin their virtual travel journey. While VR experiences are quieter and internalised as users wear VR glasses, the designers placed extra care to ensure that the area is comfortable, exciting and immersive.
Enhancing the audio-visual experience, two 10-metre wide projection screens and a surround sound system play out short travel videos. Bridging the physical and digital world, customers can also access ZANADU’s online platform in the store via WeChat and QR codes.
Photographer by Sui Sicong
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
Suitable for applications ranging from schools and retail outlets to computer rooms and X-ray suites, Palettone comes in two varieties and a choice of more than fifty colours.
Sub-Zero and Wolf’s prestigious Kitchen Design Contest (KDC) has celebrated the very best in kitchen innovation and aesthetics for three decades now. Recognising premier kitchen design professionals from around the globe, the KDC facilitates innovation, style and functionality that pushes boundaries.
Marylou Cafaro’s first trendjournal sparked a powerful, decades-long movement in joinery designs and finishes which eventually saw Australian design develop its independence and characteristic style. Now, polytec offers all-new insights into the future of Australian design.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Welcome to the year of the Design Effect. This year’s theme aims to showcase the profound ripple effects that exceptional design can have on people, place and planet. Join in shaping this narrative by contributing your perspective before May 3, 2024, and become a part of the Design Effect movement.
Wood Marsh’s 40-year legacy shines through landmark infrastructure projects. Recently completing stunning stations at Coburg and Moreland, their designs blend modernity with community needs.