By Ole Scheeren © Buro-OS
Through an evolutionary approach to the design initiated in 2019, Buro Ole Scheeren delivers an immersive and distinctive environment for this year's Kering pavilion at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) 2020.
Designed as a reusable, semi-modular system, Buro Ole Scheeren's Kering pavilion is able to be modified, redeployed and reshuffled as needed. Keeping an estimated 16,000kg of waste out of Shanghai's landfills each year and reusing an estimated two-thirds of the material weight, the Kering pavilion reinforces the fashion house's commitment to their brand pillars of innovation, responsibility and creativity.
Consisting of an assortment of rose-hued, crystalline cubes thoughtfully composed on a gently elevated platform, Buro Ole Scheeren's carefully calibrated design engenders a sense of place and becomes the host for a plethora of multi-scale merchandise displays and multimedia installations designed to inspire and capture the imagination.
The dynamic massing of the prismatic cubes creates a space for exploration while presenting Kering’s brands in an exhibition-like setting, highlighting the qualities and uniqueness of each label and their craft. The design establishes a distinctive overall appearance and visual language, while offering intimate public-private spaces to showcase the individual brands and their stories. Larger display cubes are dedicated to curated exhibits of Kering’s Luxury Houses, which include some of the most iconic names in the industry, including Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, and Brioni. Meanwhile smaller cubes display watch and jewellery collections in a more intimate and precious presentation. Also new this year is the virtual totem, a small-yet-dazzling holographic display that seductively presents a live, future-oriented vision of luxury.
Echoing this year's theme of biodiversity and Kering's ongoing commitment to resource stewardship, environmental responsibility is evidenced throughout and permeates the project at all scales. This year, rather than printed merchandise tags, the design uses QR codes that expo-goers may scan with their phones to look up product information. Not only does this save material and printing, it fosters public interaction and engagement and provides access to exclusive digital content. Furthermore, new digital content will be available on an app, allowing an even greater number of people to experience the immersive design, regardless of physical limitations or distance.
Alongside bespoke presentations of its Luxury Houses, the Pavilion showcases Kering’s vision of a Modern Luxury. The Kering Lounge displays the group’s history of innovation through multisensory installations, live-casting, and interactive displays. The Biodiversity Lab, an enclosed educational area, presents Kering’s wide-ranging sustainability initiatives, including Kering’s Biodiversity Strategy to achieve a ‘net positive” impact on biodiversity by 2025; partnership with The Explorers, a collaborative platform which presents the beauty and fragility of our planet through immersive videos; Kering Generation Award to promote innovation and sustainability; the Chinese version of the world’s first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) dedicated to learning about sustainable luxury fashion organised in collaboration with Tsinghua Universtiy and The London College of Fashion; and Kering’s children’s initiative with the Hubei Red Cross Foundation.
