Johannes Torpe Studios was asked to create a showroom for the historical onyx stone with the idea of transforming an old watch factory, in the historical area of Shanghai, into a beautiful high-end showroom.
Onyx is a precious, luxury stone that was used in Egypt as early as the second Dynasty to make bowls and other pottery items.
The emerging creation is Skyword Showroom; a shop for onyx figures, tables and furniture, as well as an exhibition space to display the ancient stone as a modern building material.
The showroom possesses elegant marble floors and features an automatic conveyor with blocks of the heavy onyx hanging from the ceiling, creating the illusion that they are floating. The intention was to create a seemingly surreal, 360-degree experience, using the elements of water and air as inspiration. Controlled light and technological movement are incorporated into the design to create special effects that emphasixe the grandeur of the space; enabling history to meet high-end design in a harmonious and sophisticated manner.
