X+Living unveils the captivating fourth-floor public area renovation for the Deji Commercial&Art Bazaar within Deji Plaza Phase II in Nanjing, China. This latest chapter, following their transformation of the sixth floor, plunges visitors into an abstracted deep-sea landscape envisioned inside a futuristic space capsule. Led by Li Xiang, the studio continues its mission to extend cultural perception and emotional engagement beyond mere shopping, rejecting conventional retail formulas through bold architectural intervention.
Departing from typical storefront logic, X+Living employed an inward architectural approach. They redefined the mall’s communal zones by distilling the contours of a spacecraft and deep-sea currents into primary linear elements. Curved storefront façades and sinuous decorative lines form a continuous, enveloping interface, dissolving traditional mall rigidity. This fluid spatial experience creates meandering paths that encourage exploration and social media moments, evoking the lively chaos of an urban market while transforming standard shops into narrative fragments.
A serene light blue palette anchors the space, evoking the ocean’s depth and tranquility. Circular patterns on the floor and ceiling mirror each other, suggesting the sea’s surface from above and below. Strategically placed mirrored stainless steel along the periphery amplifies visual depth dramatically. The reflections generate rippling, dynamic effects that enhance the sensation of floating or diving, solidifying the metaphorical spatial narrative.
To maximize brand impact, designers intentionally enlarged shopfront display windows. The interplay of colour and glass mimics sunlight piercing through water, adding layers of transparency and fluidity. This not only elevates product visibility but also softens the project’s inherent futuristic aesthetics with a calming, breath-like rhythm, enhancing the overall immersive retail atmosphere.
The ceiling-mounted whale installation emerges as a poetic focal point, capturing the creature’s gentle glide. Its underside features unexpected street-art-style graffiti, introducing a playful, expressive rupture within the orderly environment. Crucially, this kinetic sculpture is designed for adaptability; it can be swapped to align with evolving thematic spatial storytelling or seasonal events, ensuring the space remains dynamic and relevant.
The escalator lobby connecting floors intensifies the drama. Fully enclosed elevators are framed by stark linear light strips on top and sides, creating a tunnel-like passage with a powerful perspective. As visitors move between levels, they experience a cinematic shift akin to traveling through time and space, further enhancing the project’s extraordinary narrative depth and sense of immersion.
In this Commercial&Art Bazaar, X+Living demonstrates how commercial space can transcend consumption. Every detail fosters discovery and emotional engagement, prioritizing the experience economy and transforming the plaza into a resonant cultural symbol with tangible value. This aquatic journey follows their acclaimed redesign of Deji Plaza Phase I’s sixth floor, transformed into an Urban Garden Dining Area. Together, these projects cement Deji Plaza’s status as a beacon of innovative retail design in Nanjing. Explore Phase I’s lush intervention here: X+Living Transforms Deji Plaza Dining Area into an Urban Garden Oasis.