HATCH Architects: Winner of World Design Awards 2022. Chengdu is one of the most charming cities in China owning to its everlasting history, relaxed atmosphere, as well as well-preserved nature and wild-life attractions. The ZEEKR Center designed by Hatch is located next to the city’s landmark, Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, sitting on a favorable corner spot with large flows of people.  Being the brand’s first flagship store in southwest China, The double-storey ZEEKR Center has approximately a total floor area of 1200 sqm.

ZEEKR Center · Chengdu is more than a car showroom. It is also an “Urban Living Room” for ZEEKR car owners and their friends and families. When designing the space, we aspire to highlight ZEEKR’s brand character, while subtly incorporating local features. Our design echoes with ZEEKR’s core values: style, delicacy, technology.

As a premium electric mobility technology and solutions brand under Geely Holding Group, ZEEKR embraces “Generation Zero” clientele – a group of confident, independent and innovative car owners who uphold high standard for social responsibilities. With its catchy slogan, “Stay Cool, Stay Zero,” ZEEKR aims at breaking boundaries of all kinds – the vision is fully manifested in our space design.

Innovation:

Facades of the original building consisted of window walls and aluminum panels in dark grey, insinuating a closed gesture. We replaced the former facades with super white glasses, blurring the boundaries between indoor and outdoor spaces. This design also enhanced the store’s interaction with its surrounding environment. We persevered the “Less is More” principle throughout our creative process. The stylishly minimal facades stand out from the bustling neighborhood, making a kind of its own.

Car display composes the main function of the first floor. We generously employed high-tech metallic materials to set up a minimalist tonality, resonating with ZEEKR’s car designs. The soft lighting ceiling provides ideal lighting to accentuate elegant vehicle models. A prefabricated spiral staircase made of aluminum plates (with fluorocarbon coating) stands in the center, within which an indoor landscape was created with verdant local bamboos. The bamboo landscape not only adds a pinch of green into the white and grey space, but also echoes with Chengdu’s cherished specialties.

Challenge:

The second floor is dedicated to ZEEKR car owners. In accordance with spatial function, the area is divided into ZEEKR Bar, ZEEKR Camp, ZEEKR forum, meeting rooms, offices……Activities and events of all kinds can be flexibly organized. In addition, if ZEEKR car owners had difficulties in finding a decent space for business meetings, they could get complimentary access to our meeting rooms through reservation.

One the second floor, we would like to create a comfortable space for people relax and mingle. Therefore, its spatial tonality is warmer than the first floor. On the south side, we built a bar with terraced seatings – The structure enabled people at different “height levels” to equally enjoy the city view.

The ZEEKR Bar is designed under the concept of “City Stage.” We paired wood veneers with translucent glass bricks to create a chic look. RGBW system was employed in lighting design around the bar area, switching between different vibes for different occasions. A mirrored stainless steel false ceiling was installed on the second floor, highlighting ZEEKR’s style, delicacy, technology.

Innovation:

ZEEKR adheres to the value concept of equality, diversity and sustainability, not only co-creating with users, but also co-creating with global high-quality ecological partners. This had made sustainability a major part of every design aspect. Combined with the local climate in Chengdu and store’s operating hours, the design team adopted energy-saving techniques, products, and local materials during the renovation design and use of ZEEKR Center, and aggressively drives down energy consumption by using ventilating and lighting strategies.

Project Details
Firm
HATCH Architects

Architect/Designer
David Wei

Project Name
ZEEKR Center · Taikoo Li Chengdu

World Design Awards Category
Commercial and Workplace Interior Built

Project Location
Chengdu, China

Team
Chief Designer: David Wei, Lu Penghong, Xu Jiawen, Wang Qian, Li Jiayang, Zhao Yuanming, Long Zhihai, Ren Qihao, Chang Simeng, Gao Weihang, Liu Jianfeng

Country
China

Photography ©Credit
©Zhu Qingyan

HATCH Architects is an innovation-driven architecture + interior design company with Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) qualification. HATCH is headquartered in London, and its Asia-Pacific headquarters is in Shanghai. We bring together imaginative designers and local experienced experts from around the world to jointly create creative and practical design solutions. In the era of globalization, the mission of HATCH is to empower work and life with creative design, and create spaces with continuous happiness.

HATCH has rich design experience and talent resources in the fields of International Education, R&D Office, Hospitality, and Medical & Healthcare Architecture design.