Shiwu, a lifestyle store retailing hand-made Japanese products in Nanjing, has been fitted out with mesh panels dipped in paper pulp, along with polycarbonate and OSB timber. Designed by Shanghai-based studio Cats Studio and located in a busy metropolitan area, Shiwu provides a calming area of respite in a small alleyway venue, reports design magazine Dezeen. “Panels of expanded metal mesh wrap the peripheral walls of the store and, in places, extend into the space to serve as semi-trans
semi-transparent partitions,” reports Dezeen. “Polycarbonate shelves and hooks for displaying products are hung from the mesh.”
“After going through many surveys and experiments, we discovered an ancient Chinese formula of paper pulp, which is very fibre-rich and adhesive,” said a Cats Studio spokesperson of the material covering each mesh panel. The unevenness of the creates different visual impacts depending on where the viewer is standing.
The apertures throughout the store are designed to accommodate standardised hangers so as to expand the range of options for locating objects and shelves. Also, a large grid fitted with LED lighting directed to the ceiling cast an even glow across the store, “improving visual comfort and diffusing unpleasant shadows”.
