Homely showroom

Category: Retail
Location: Taipei
Size: 95m²

Homely Sanitary & Bath Showroom - Like Home, Like Gallery

Homely Enterprise opened a showroom exclusive for its franchised merchandise like Dornbracht, Villeroy & Boch etc. The intention was not just to introduce its merchandises' characteristics to the visiting customers; moreover, it was intended to encourage customers to use and test them in person at the showroom to gain real experiences about the merchandise. The design concept of the interior was inspired by Duchamp's work titled Fountain when he submitted a porcelain urinal for an exhibition. In the 21st century, the perception of beauty is not happening exclusively to the gallery. The keywords like art, taste, aesthetics, fashion are frequently used everywhere in daily life. Nowadays, it would not be a surprise even if the gallery were transformed into a gigantic bathroom pool. Thus, if it is true that Duchamp challenges the definition between a piece of artistic work and an ordinary readymade, this interior design continues to break down the barrier between the showroom, living space and gallery.

Due to the special program of test use, as well as the high quality of the display items which are all imported from overseas, unconventional spatial strategies were conceived to organize the showroom - Like Home, Like Gallery. For the test use area, an independent space was reserved for making a realistic bathroom within the showroom. The main idea was to enhance the intimate life atmosphere by making the test bathroom feel like home and not regarded as a dummy. It is a precast of a virtual ownership that might beneficially incubate an actual one in the future. For other displays, franchised items were treated like art works as if exhibited in a gallery. The idea was to emphasize the accomplishment the craft making technique achieved by shifting the showroom situation into a gallery exhibition. Washbasins were like sculptures settled on display props, and the bathtub was like an installation art catching customers' eyes. It might create an illusion as if visiting a gallery. Though acting like art works, all the items are piped and function normally just like real ones.

The concept of the interior was also derived from the paper cutting art. The contrast between the figure and the ground visualizes the image. Part of the ceiling was cut off, lowered down and rotated with an angle. The gaps between ceilings created hierarchical layers where air vent, pipes were concealed. Moreover, the relationship between the wall and the ceiling were just like overlapping paper as if paper lid folded down into the paper box. In the end, the space is a gigantic paper sculpture.