yinjispace

INTERIOR
Fillstudio
PHOTOGRAPHY
Studio UNEED
EDITOR
Gina
Collection

Discussing space inevitably involves the dimension of time, and a site's unique environment enables the narration of its specific "temporality." Within a furniture factory situated in Heshan, Guangdong, surrounded by natural villages, farmland, and fish ponds, designer Yang Yuewen completed the renovation and upgrade of the office space for the MUUSA brand. The resulting space is profoundly experiential, seamlessly integrating functions like work, client reception, and brand display.

The MUUSA brand is dedicated to researching the contemporary expression of local lifestyles. Driven by design, it delves deeply into traditional craftsmanship and utilizes natural materials like imported cowhide, wood, and special minerals to deliver high-value services and home products to discerning clients. With evolving domestic consumption and shifting market dynamics, the brand team seized the factory environment upgrade as an opportunity to proactively embrace future possibilities. They aimed to construct an aesthetic archetype aligned with their own development, vividly merging architecture, space, and objects within dynamic settings.

The designer focused on the site's boundaries and the relationship between public and private domains. This focus determined the final design manifestations: meandering circulation paths, the organization of functional zones, the outward cantilevered eaves, the low cast-in-place concrete wall traversing indoors and outdoors, and the landscape pool, among others. The designer extended the original floor and ceiling outwards, using floor-to-ceiling glass to blur the interior-exterior divide. The landscape pool shapes the office entrance pathway into a light, bridge-like form. Imagine daily moments: people crossing this small bridge accompanied by the murmur of water, enhancing the experiential and ceremonial nature of the entrance.

Morning sunlight pours into the lobby, imbuing the space with a warm texture. From spatial surfaces to object expressions, travertine serves as the primary material throughout the office. On the lobby's right, a sculptural plinth with an intentionally unfinished feel integrates with European mid-century sculptures, their presence accentuated by the backdrop of a grey, cast-in-place concrete low wall. The large brown dog living at the factory patiently followed the photography team's directions under the heat. In the captured photos, this temporary "actor" reveals a certain potential for a professional "debut" right on site. The hall is a multi-functional public space, mainly carrying out functions such as exhibition, reception and communication. An LED screen is embedded in the background wall, which plays brand-related videos on a daily basis.

Objects within space create a game of seeking balance within a flowing order. The spontaneous display experiments conducted onsite hint at the future possibility of adjusting the space's mood through objects, offering users inspiration and reference. For the designer, arranging the relationships between objects within a space is an opportunity to train perception—an effective way to hone one's perspective. As illustrated, unrelated elements (an old Nordic wooden column, ceramic cube ornaments, an eye sculpture, LED screen imagery) are juxtaposed and reconstructed to form a new, intriguing relationship.

At the end of an office corridor stands a solid cylindrical piece of travertine—a leftover scrap from construction. A groove on its surface bears witness to the stone-cutting machinery. Positioned along the space's central axis is a lighting fixture developed from translucent onyx and copper pipes. This fixture, a crucial node employees pass daily and a popular photo spot for visitors, functions somewhat like a "ritual object." Its warm, healing glow invites relaxation or a momentary pause. There are moments when people gather around it, discussing memories and associations, as if briefly detaching from reality into another dimension. Perhaps this captures the very meaning of "object-making" within space. There always exists a subtle interplay between people and their environment. If the sun-drenched lobby fosters an awareness of the external surroundings, then in the office foyer corridor, the designer utilizes this lighting fixture to attempt to awaken internal sensations and memories.

The iconic Elephant Chair, designed by British designer Faye Toogood, presents a sturdy, primitive simplicity under natural light. The custom lighting fixture crafted from jade and copper pipes complements it perfectly, together etching the tranquil atmosphere of the communal space. The interstitial spaces within the site create ambiguous connections between functional zones. Interpenetrating light, shadow, and sightlines emphasize the interlocking narrative logic of the space. With each step, the view shifts; numerous subtle details are evenly distributed along the overall circulation path, awaiting discovery.

A marble table weighing several tons lies quietly in the space like a slumbering giant. Dappled light reflected from the outdoor pool dances on the conference room wall. Constrained by the raw material's size, the tabletop is formed by two solid travertine slabs joined in a zigzag pattern. A central aperture is reserved for routing electrical cables and power strips.The installation of the table by over a dozen workers was a scene imbued with ceremony; the moment the tabletop sections finally met, the expressions of satisfaction remain vivid.

The interplay of solid and void in the Classicon floor lamp resonates with the spatial framework, creating an exceptionally harmonious corner. A highly sculptural communal bar counter sits on the circular pathway. It handles part of the daily reception preparations while also serving as a scenic "stage" to display small objects and lifestyle products developed by the brand. The water bar counter is positioned along the public circulation path. This placement was chosen firstly for its proximity to other functional zones, and secondly, to encourage office staff or visitors to briefly congregate there for casual interaction and conversation.

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