ATTEMPT SHANGHAI JULU STORE
This project is situated on Julu Road, Shanghai, housed within a historic Western-style residence, as evidenced in Image 6. Given the building’s heritage status, the scope for spatial intervention was highly constrained. The structure itself had fallen into a state of neglect over time; thus, our first act was not design, but repair—a necessary precondition for any subsequent spatial articulation.
The building comprises four levels, three of which were designated for retail use. The scale of each floor is modest, precluding any expansive gestures in display. Instead, the design strategy foregrounds compression, proximity, and the negotiation of constraint.
A key material gesture involved the extensive use of cold-rolled steel sheeting as both partition and display infrastructure. This material, often encountered in urban settings as a provisional surface for ground repair, carries embedded connotations of transience, utility, and infrastructural anonymity. Recontextualized vertically within the interior, it acquires a new monumentality—simultaneously evoking purpose and inevitability.
The floor plane, composed of hand-cut marble, is incised with a network of linear grooves. This intervention imposes a grid-like spatial discipline upon the fragmented layout, rendering the plan legible through tactile geometry.
Of particular spatial interest is the deep light well located at the front of the house. Here, natural light descends with near-ritualistic clarity, reminiscent of ecclesiastical typologies. In response, a triangulated inward-facing layout was introduced at the threshold, functioning as both spatial prelude and symbolic invitation—orienting the visitor toward an interior distinct from the urban fabric outside.
The store has since persisted in this location for over three years. It opened during the city’s pandemic lockdown, and perhaps for this reason, it has continued to inhabit the space in a state of quiet resilience—less as a commercial presence, and more as a sustained architectural meditation.
