When creating exhibition spaces, the design of the experience, the proposed route, and the transmission of certain perceptions and senses contribute to establishing different bonds and connections between the displayed objects and their visitors. Understanding a showroom as a space designed to creatively and experientially showcase products and services, what design strategies could enhance users’ interior experiences? How does interior design engage in dialogue with exhibition architecture?
While a showroom space aims to foster interaction between products or services and their visitors, it also provides an opportunity to host other activities. Meeting rooms, work areas, recreation or rest zones, storage spaces, or stockrooms are part of the demands placed on these environments, while also enhancing immersive experiences and relationships among their users. From fashion, automotive, technology, and cosmetics to interior design, architecture, and art, these spaces seek to highlight the features and benefits of the exhibited objects, capturing visitors’ attention by creating atmospheres in which color, lighting, and materiality play a central role.
Depending on each program and/or spatial quality, architecture and design professionals are capable of encouraging or limiting the amount of time clients spend in a space by applying specific design strategies in the arrangement of furniture, installations, and structures. In recent years, the integration of interactive technology such as touch screens, augmented or virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and more, has opened a new realm for delivering experiences that spark curiosity about materials, objects, or services and help communicate more information during the selection process.
According to their properties and characteristics, each material offers different exhibition possibilities involving sliding panels, hanging arrangements, or rotating displays, among others. Moreover, materials can inspire the architectural concept of a project and even reflect clients’ desires, giving deeper meaning to the design of the space. Just as Florencia Rissotti Arq incorporates a fabric catalog in the main space of Tienda Mayor in Argentina and uses a series of curtains as space dividers, PPAA’s Orient Hongda Offices in China also integrate their raw material into the space’s design. Using Orient Hongda’s threads for translucent curtains that shape the interior experience, they create sensations and atmospheres that function as independent elements, making the building’s structure perceptually disappear.
How to Organize Material Exhibition Areas
From textiles, flooring or wall covering samples to sanitary accessories, architectural material showrooms offer the opportunity to experience finishes firsthand and define the materiality of projected environments. Many professionals in architecture, interior design, and construction visit these spaces with their clients, so having communal tables, shared seating, and other furniture helps make the experience more comfortable and suitable for group discussion. Displaying more than 400 sample boards, the Maruhon Fukuoka Office & Showroom by KATORI archi+design associates transforms a wooden building into a sample exhibition space where architecture, furniture, and product become three aspects of a single entity.
In Oztile Showroom by Atelier MODS, the dynamic spatial composition enhances the sensory experience of architecture. The arrangement of material samples in various formats and scales through fixed or movable panels highlights the advantage of observing how they interact with light and shadow, discovering their textures and colors, and imagining their application in interior or exterior spaces. In fact, ISHIMIRAI Lab. Showroom by POINT + Spicy Architects is conceived as a laboratory of possible interior scenarios where users can freely reconfigure the space to try different material variations and combinations. The system consists of four booths finished in four basic colors, each varying in tone and materials. On a large display wall, panels are exhibited and can be prepared for installation in the booths. Each panel can be easily mounted and removed from the wall or from furniture modules using special supports. Additionally, samples of different materials and textures, such as wood and metal, are provided to facilitate combinations with other materials.
Oztile Showroom / Atelier MODS
ISHIMIRAI Lab. Showroom / POINT + Spicy Architects
Leolux Experience Center / i29 interior architects
Maruhon Fukuoka Office & Showroom / KATORI archi+design associates
How to Create Immersive Experiences Through Material Exhibitions
Time and again, experience plays a fundamental role in exhibition space design. When choosing to highlight raw material as the main feature of the space, the layout of all elements enables the creation of atmospheres that evoke different perceptions in users. In the Roca Tile Cersaie 2021 Showroom, Masquespacio sought to demonstrate the ceramic material's ability to create decorative elements. Extending beyond its traditional use on floors and walls, ceramic was employed to design small sculptural and furniture pieces integrated into the space. On the other hand, the Collins Experience Center by MuseLAB also proposes an immersive experience through the combination of soft forms and simple geometry, where each product is presented individually yet functions as part of a whole.
At the Sculptform Design Studio, the creativity of Woods Bagot led to the design of a space that embodies the experience, passion for design, and artisanal philosophy of Sculptform. Through an immersive and experimental experience, with a high-tech digital gallery and full-scale product sample displays, the boundary between commercial space and installation is blurred in this case study of a “working showroom,” demonstrating the impact of design in conjunction with local manufacturing and quality craftsmanship. Meanwhile, in Sumu Fumu Terrace by nendo, the experience centers around the integration of nature and the use of glass doors that create a versatile space for various content while reducing the discomfort often felt in enclosed areas. The entrance of natural light and the presence of greenery bring a sense of openness while maintaining separation between indoors and outdoors.
Roca Tile Cersaie 2021 Showroom / Masquespacio
Sculptform Design Studio / Woods Bagot
Sumu Fumu Terrace / nendo
Collins Experience Center / MuseLAB
How to Integrate Full-Scale Furniture and Design Objects When Selecting Materials
Designing different contiguous environments within a single space is part of the dynamic proposed by many showrooms that go beyond showcasing material samples to include furniture sets, design objects, and tech accessories aligned with different architectural styles, uses, and more. For example, the interior architecture concept of SSAB Flagship Store by Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio presents an unconventional approach by offering a series of visual and sensory experiences. Meanwhile, Flat Point Seongsu Store, designed by the design studio stof., aims to visualize the captivating scene created by layering the brand’s colors with the local character of Seongsu. Temporal contrasts, shifts in perspective, and layers of essence establish a sequence that extends from the neighborhood to the space, from the space to the product, overlaying Flat Point’s values and emotions onto Seongsu-dong.
On the other hand, the connection with nature also stands out in the design of some of these spaces, through proposals that offer experiences of disconnection, tranquility, and relaxation, or that seek to connect visitors with native values or local traditions of the site. Climate control systems, smart technologies, and lighting tailored to environmental conditions are part of the interior experience and help shape the aesthetic of the spaces, demonstrating another crucial design aspect. Just as Stand Bela Vista Riviera by Estúdio Vinicius Macêdo creates contrast amid urban noise, A Suite in Thao Dien by studio anettai is transformed into a residence/showroom featuring a curated collection of furniture and lighting accessories. A series of organically shaped planters separates the different areas with tropical plants. In this way, visitors can experience the furniture within a lush tropical forest, along winding paths that subvert the typical white-walled, cubic art gallery layout.
Stand Bela Vista Riviera / Estúdio Vinicius Macêdo
Flat Point Seongsu Store / stof.
Cultiver HQ Showroom / YSG.STUDIO
A Suite in Thao Dien / studio anettai
SSAB Flagship Store / Bogdan Ciocodeica Studio
How to Use Surface Treatments and Color in Material Exhibitions
The interplay between elements, the impact of light and shadow, the proportions of the spaces, or orientation and outdoor views, among other factors, define the aesthetic of exhibition spaces. In the field of paint, for instance, as seen in Danilo Paint Showroom by Jingu Phoenix Space Planning Organization, it is possible to create different spatial scenes using paints with various textures, while also building artistic spaces with fluid circulation to attract visitors. The presence or absence of color in architecture reflects design decisions that accompany the sensorial direction of the space, sometimes emphasizing specific features such as furniture details, material textures, accessory finishes, or the joints and connections between structural elements.
Blending luxury and color, Sorbet Showroom by MuseLAB aims to preserve and celebrate the place’s inherent characteristics. Once inside, a flood of colors and elements forms an image akin to a green monolith, with the omnipresence of hues accentuated by floating halos (custom lighting systems) and berry-toned I-beam columns. Sorbet’s identity is led by the uniqueness of its material palette which, like ROUNGE Showroom by ATMOROUND, showcases a wide variety of product types in different geometries and scales, allowing customers to explore the full range of styles, textures, and objects available.
Danilo Paint Showroom de Jingu Phoenix Space Planning Organization
Sorbet Showroom / MuseLAB
ROUNGE Showroom / ATMOROUND
This article is part of an ArchDaily series exploring interior architecture features based on our own project database. Each month, we highlight how architects and designers worldwide are incorporating new elements, characteristics, and signatures into interior spaces. As always, at ArchDaily, we greatly value our readers' contributions. If you believe we should cover specific ideas, feel free to send us your suggestions.
