UNStudio designs guangzhou flagship for mobile phone brand OPPO

UNStudio has completed a new flagship store in guangzhou for OPPO — one of china’s leading smart device manufacturers. in line with OPPO’s move to upgrade its brand, UNstudio’s offices in shanghai and hong kong were tasked with introducing a new customer experience that starts from the shops’ exterior façades into the retail interiors. for OPPO, the stores reflect a new identity for the company in these thriving cities — a visual branding that goes beyond the products and expands the meaning of the ‘OPPO experience.’

image © yiyi and OPPO (also main image)

with its undulating façade, UNStudio’s newly completed OPPO guangzhou super flagship store is located at the city’s zhengjia plaza. the design expresses the philosophy of the company, introducing a recognizable reflection of OPPO’s overall branding. for OPPO customers, the newly designed guangzhou store provides a venue where they can familiarize themselves with and get excited about OPPO’s products.

image © yiyi and OPPO

UNStudio approaches the design for the guangzhou store through a keen focus on craftsmanship, with a material palette that add a contemporary twist to the vernacular architecture of the city. situated along a main avenue, the façade design needed to provide the store with a bold and recognizable visual identity. a sliced extruded tube component was chosen as the main module, inspired by bamboo — an important source of food, clothing, housing, and transportation for people in guangzhou in ancient times.

image © creatAR

for the overall composition of the façade elements, multiple geometric strategies were studied. following the exploration of different volumetric options, a large, sweeping folding gesture was chosen which echoes the corner curve of the OPPO brand logo, while guiding visitors towards the entrance to the store. achieving a fluid space in a flowing, uninterrupted movement — where an intuitive sequence of different areas enables customers to experience and interact with the products — was one of the key aims of the interior design.

image © creatAR

image © creatAR

image © creatAR

image © yiyi and OPPO

image © yiyi and OPPO

image © creatAR

project info:

name: OPPO store guangzhou,
location: guangzhou, china,
date: 2019 – 2020

client: guangdong OPPO mobile télécommunications corp.,ltd.

building surface: 600 sqm
program: retail store
design
 status: completed in june 2020

UNStudio: ben van berkel, hannes pfau, garett hwang with alexander meyers, ana castaingts gomez, piao liu, jing xu, idil kantarci
, diego ramirez leon, 
praneet verma

local design institute: DOP design
installation & exhibition: leaping creative
lighting: brandston partnership inc.(BPI)