Smart Experiences

It’s busy on Zhenbei Road – a typical, lively shopping district in the middle of Shanghai. Flanked by furniture stores, the “Smart Home Experience Centre” recently opened here for the global manufacturer of consumer goods Haier – a simple flagship store where the Chinese industrial group wants to present its latest technologies and innovations. The designers at Spacemen were particularly keen to create a clear contrast to the lively outside world here, and accordingly designed a calming atmosphere in which customers can relax fully and completely, so that they can absorb the brand and its brand values, products and services.

The understated design is already evident in the design of the entrance, which is framed by a uniformly backlit polycarbonate wall, whose elegant simplicity creates a sharp contrast to its colourful neighbours and thus attracts attention. Inside, a luminous ring then peeps out to capture a sculptural staircase. It pulls visitors up as if in a whirl, accompanied by predominantly white materials that radiate lightness and high quality. The following Experience Centre is divided into three areas: In the “Smart Home” the core scenarios of living – kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom – can be experienced live.

Whereby all the devices shown here (as befits a smart home) are linked to each other, communicate with each other and can be operated via voice assistant or app. In “The Future”, those interested can immerse themselves in an immersive 360° multimedia experience in which Haier’s vision is perfectly choreographed. And finally, the “Product Experience Zone” provides a concrete insight into the extensive product world: from fiber-detecting washing machines to multi-zone air conditioning systems.

All of this takes place in a material palette of oak wood, light cream-coloured walls, and terrazzo. Echoes of Zen gardens also provide soothing moments and the lighting system of a translucent plant wall is also controlled to imitate the natural light of the seasons. With the “Haier Smart Experience Centre”, Spacemen have created a place – indeed a whole world – in which architecture, nature and smart living technologies interact with virtuosity.