Seaside Glass Case – Working Within Limits
In the coastal city of Qinhuangdao, where bright seaside light floods the streets and commercial architecture often leaves little room for nuance, CoCo & DC quietly redefines what a boutique can be. Housed in two existing retail units with a fixed glass façade that could not be altered, the project began with tight constraints—spatially fragmented, visually exposed, and constantly bathed in harsh coastal sunlight. For a fashion boutique, this posed a critical issue: prolonged UV exposure could easily damage delicate fabrics and distort color rendering across the display. Rather than fight these conditions, the design embraced them as raw material. Through subtle masking, sculptural intervention, and a play of illusion and light, the space transforms constraint into clarity and presence.
背景与限制
在阳光炽烈、建筑表情单一的海滨城市秦皇岛，CoCo & DC 试图重新定义“精品店”的空间可能性。项目位于两个已有的商业街铺内，原有的玻璃立面不可改动，室内格局支离破碎，面朝海边的强烈自然光也为展示带来诸多挑战。设计并未试图掩盖这些先天条件，而是将其视为原材料，通过遮蔽、雕塑性介入与光线的层叠操控，将一系列局限转化为空间的清晰感与存在感。
The Inner Façade
The primary design move was the creation of a translucent inner façade—an independent layer of polycarbonate panels set just behind the existing glass storefront. This element filters the intense daylight, diffusing it into a soft, ambient glow that fills the space. The result is a consistent, greenhouse-like atmosphere throughout the day. At night, concealed lighting between the glass and polycarbonate activates the space from within, transforming the storefront into a glowing, understated presence along the street.
By masking the original façade from the inside, the design generates a new spatial identity without violating external restrictions. The store reads like a glowing volume wrapped in light, with a subtle boundary between interior and city.
内层立面
项目最关键的设计策略，是在原有玻璃立面之后加设一层半透明聚碳酸酯板，形成一层“内层立面”。它过滤了海边强烈的日照，将直射阳光转化为柔和均匀的漫射光，赋予室内温室般通透而安静的氛围。入夜后，藏于玻璃与聚碳板之间的线性灯带亮起，让整个立面从内部微微发光，在不改动外观的前提下，构建出一种全新的街道存在感。
这层“内壳”的设置，不仅解决了光环境的问题，更从内部重构了空间的气质与辨识度。整间店仿佛被光包裹，在城市与室内之间划出一层柔软却清晰的边界。
Circulation and Experience
At the rear of the space, a stair leads to the second floor—the boutique’s main retail zone. While the ground floor is compact and immersive, the upper level opens up, becoming brighter, more private, and more relaxed. Here, customers are invited to slow down, explore, and linger.
A single window preserved at the stair landing frames a distant view of the sea—and a residential tower by architect Moshe Safdie. This quiet alignment, invisible to most, was deliberate: a subtle architectural homage, embedded within the experience of the space.
流线与体验
空间后部设有一座通往二层的楼梯，通往店铺的主要展示区域。与一层相对封闭、紧凑的氛围不同，二层更加开敞、明亮且具有私密感。顾客在这里可以放慢脚步，沉浸式地浏览与停留。
楼梯平台处保留了一扇原有窗户，正对远方的大海与一栋由建筑师摩西·萨夫迪设计的住宅塔楼。这一刻意的视觉对景，虽不张扬，却是一处内行看门道的致敬姿态，悄然嵌入整个空间动线之中。
Architectural Illusions
Throughout the interior, a series of architectural gestures quietly disrupt the viewer’s sense of material and space. At the center of second floor, a jagged concrete portal—composed of irregular concrete blocks—marks the point where the two original storefronts were joined. Rather than conceal the act of demolition, the design monumentalizes it, turning a moment of rupture into a spatial anchor.
Nearby, a floating wall hovers just above the floor, its mass and weight implied but never real. Though it appears to be poured concrete, the surface is a lightweight frame painted in cement texture—an illusion that plays with gravity and perception. On the upper level, travertine wall tiles—meaning to resemble the sea shells on the beach —are set vertically and read like sun-washed beach pavers. Their placement and tone shift the mood of the space, blurring boundaries between indoors and out, display and landscape.
建筑的错觉
室内一系列精心设定的建筑性操作，悄然打破了对空间与材料的既定认知。在二层的中心位置，一道锯齿状的混凝土门洞由不规则砌筑的混凝土块构成，标志着两个原有铺位的交汇点。设计并未试图掩饰这一“破墙而入”的过程，而是将其实体化，转译为空间的主角。
一旁，一堵“漂浮”的隔墙则以水泥质感涂层伪装成混凝土实墙，实际却为轻质骨架结构。这种反重力的伪装，打破了物质与视觉的惯性认知。二层墙面上的洞石瓷砖被垂直铺设，仿佛晒白的贝壳铺地，将室内氛围转向一种内向的“海边庭院”——模糊了室内外的边界，也模糊了展示与风景的界限。
A Store of Edits and Reveals
CoCo & DC is a project that turns constraints into opportunities. It builds a new spatial identity from within, filters light instead of blocking it, and uses illusion to enrich the visitor experience. Defined not by surface decoration but by spatial framing, material clarity, and control of perception, it is a boutique that quietly challenges what a retail interior can be.
一个关于遮蔽与显现的空间
CoCo & DC 是一个关于限制如何转化为设计语言的项目。它从内部建构立面，以过滤取代阻隔，通过尺度、材料与感知的微妙控制，让空间本身成为品牌的一部分。它不依赖装饰性，而通过遮蔽、对齐、挖空和制造错觉，展现出零售空间中少见的克制与诗意。