Nature is thought to be the origin of beauty in all things around us – a concept that’s deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture. This became the catalyst behind the new ZCMETAL headquarters and showroom in Foshan, China, by Foshan Topway Design (FTD).

As a metal customisation company, ZCMETAL sought a space where its products could be uniquely displayed. The company portfolio includes furniture, lighting, art installations and décor, combining modern technology with decades of traditional metal craftsmanship. Seeking to evoke all the five senses through their work, FTD have created a space where art and nature are fused to achieve an inimitable retail and commercial interior.

Since metal is extracted and refined from iron ore, the design celebrates these natural attributes. Acknowledging that people in large cities, surrounded by dense concrete buildings and fast-paced lifestyles, often crave nature and its liberating effects, FTD’s response is a space where the natural environment and the built environment intersect.

Split across two levels, the 500-square-metre interior comprises a reception lobby, product display, tea room and material selection area. The captivating entrance is a reflective stainless-steel ravine – also dubbed as the “magic canyon” – with twists, turns and soaring heights. Motivated by the sun, moon, stars and flowing water, FTD draw customers inside with their immersive scheme. The canyon-like passageway is heightened with LED screens in the ceiling, resembling the sky permeated with stars and the glow of the sun or the moon. The customised lighting emphasises undulating curves on the layered metallised walls made to mimic varying rock surfaces of a canyon, giving the impression of being eroded over thousands of years by natural forces of the world. Surrounded by leaves and veins, the organic forms of the lobby bar hint at a tranquil gorge inside.

Following a poetic spatial expression that emulates the materiality and flexibility of ZCMETAL’s products, the upper levels house the exhibition hall, offices, a bridge and a model room. A spiral staircase transpires through the space, stretching towards a cascading stainless steel waterfall installation. The vantage point from the stairs and the bridge set the scene of a mountain with roaring waterfalls and flowing water. Giving the illusion of water falling from the ceiling and making a delightful splash on the ground, FTD capture an imaginative state between motion and stillness, hardness and softness while enabling visitors to revel in nature.

Designing for inclusivity and highlighting the materials as the main protagonist of the space, FTD establish a design language that ensures no matter where people come from, they all experience the interior in the same poetic way.

[Images courtesy of Foshan Topway Design. Photography by Ouyang Yun.]