Black Cant System store by Hangzhou AN Interior Design wins 2016 World Interior of the Year

Black Cant System, a chic monochromatic fashion concept store by Hangzhou AN Interior Design was revealed as the 2016 World Interior of the Year on the last day of the INSIDE: World Festival of Interiors. The WAF sister event attracted more than 100 competitive submissions of interior design projects from across the globe. In the final round of the competition, the nine INSIDE category winners went head-to-head for World Interior of the Year. 

As this year's INSIDE winner, Black Cant System joins other stunning projects like March Studio's Hotel Hotel, MOTT32 restaurant in Hong Kong by Joyce Wang Studio, and David Kohn Architects' Carrer Avinyó. For November 2017, the INSIDE competition will return to Arena Berlin along with the World Architecture Festival.

Read on for more about the 2016 World Interior of the Year.

Shanwei Weng and Jiadie Yuan of Hangzhou AN Interior Design designed Black Cant System for fashion label Heike. Located in the suburban outskirts of Shanghai, the Heike concept store is quietly tucked away on the second floor of a furniture store. In evaluating the category-winning projects, the INSIDE super jury was drawn to the store's striking all-gray interior. They described the store as a project that challenges conventional ideas of the fashion retail typology. 

“The bare concrete shell of the store houses brutalist black steel, dark timber and touches of silver that combine to form a space that feels dystopian, raw and futuristic. A staircase within the middle of the store leads shoppers to a large black wedge volume at the top.”

“The design scheme also includes retail essentials like a fitting room, storage, cash register and a clothing-display area. A nice bonus element of the store is a small bar where customers can socialize as they shop. Mesh-clad windows and backlit glass paneling add to the store's moody atmosphere, and complement the utilitarian aesthetic of the clothing.”

“Faced with a divided space, the designers inserted a black canted cube over the existing central stair, and effectively absorbed the programmatic elements into a poetic and sculptural whole,” commented the 2016 INSIDE super jury, which included Clive Wilkinson, Jurgen Mayer H., Seyhan Ozdemir and Philip Handford. “The store brand and architectural image work in harmony, with a sensitivity to surface and details.”

Photos and quoted text courtesy of 2016 INSIDE: World Festival of Interiors.