Heytea at Longfor Paradise Walk

As working on this project, Shenzhen Super Normal Design broke with the convention of store design, which is usually too dependent on commercial logic. In contrast, they spent plenty of time visiting and investigating the local culture, history and customs, and then incorporated their thoughts gained in this process into the design.

With the implementation of ‘Normal City’ program, Super Normal has created diverse Heytea stores throughout many Chinese cities, the design of which all responds to local context to figure out interesting and locality-responsive design languages to interpret every store.

DESIGN INSPIRATION
After being commissioned the project, Super Normal team went to Chongqing to investigate the local context by visiting and experiencing various Internet-popular places and things in the city, such as light rail, cableway, stilted building, tea house, and hotpot; and thereby identified the city’s intrinsic peaceful character.

The city is awash with the smell of hotpot, which gave Super Normal a hint of design. Chongqing hotpot is prepared with a simmering pot of soup at the dining table. Traditionally, the pot is put on the centre of the table and divided into nine grids, so that people can place ingredients in their respective grids whiling sharing the soup. Such a unique way of dining fully reflects the city’s strong spirit of sharing and earthly living atmosphere.

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL SHARING AND INTERACTION
The designers applied the sharing idea of Chongqing hotpot to the spatial pattern, which was arranged in a flexible way on the triangular plane. Whiling endowing the central area of the space with functionality, the design team also incorporated features of the city into it. This area presents criss-crossed visual effects, and provides diversified seats and ways of interaction.

The interpenetration of interior blocks blurs the original relationship between tables and seats, to fit into the contemporary way of socializing which is characterized by equality and sharing, and to pay tribute to the pure local tea house culture. Stone materials and wood give the overall space a natural tone, while the striking red hue helps to guide the sight line. In this new commercial space, the memories of past life and the imagination of future are well blended.

LIGHT OF ‘CYBERPUNK CITY’
The varied and complicated topography has given rise to many skinny towering buildings and numerous slopes in Chongqing, making it a ‘Cyberpunk City’. Such a unique built landscape was applied into the interior in a playful way by inserting light into the ceiling which seems to open the channel between reality and imagination.

Nearly 120 years’ industrial development has shaped a spirit of creation in Chongqing, and has promoted the transformation of local manufacturing industry. The photographing wall is covered by a kind of fabric that changes colours with heat, which allows the guests to leave their marks on it in an interactive way.

PROJECT DATA
Project Title
Heytea at Longfor Paradise Walk in Chongqing
Design Firm
Shenzhen Super Normal Design Co., Ltd.
Design Directors
Wu Minwen & Yang Jianxun
Chief Designer
Wang Chuangzhe
Design Team
Guan Tianda & Yang Mei
Location
Longfor Paradise Walk, Chongqing, China
Gross Floor Area
80 square metres
Completion Date
July 2019
Images
Ye Yangsha & Wang Chuangzhe