Studio Paul Chan has transformed a former industrial warehouse at ROW DTLA in Los Angeles into the 110-square-meter flagship store for LANG. This innovative space, envisioned by Hong Kong-born Kayla Wong, serves not only as a retail destination for Asian-founded fashion brands but also as a vibrant cultural hub, hosting exhibitions, artist talks, performances, and community events. The design intricately weaves together material, craftsmanship, and everyday customs, exploring how cultural identity is reshaped through migration and adaptation.
Architect Paul Chan, also a native of Hong Kong, emphasizes that the project delves into memory without succumbing to simple nostalgia. Chan articulates that their generation often navigates between diverse cultures, and the objective was never to merely replicate Hong Kong, but rather to examine how the memories of one place can evolve into something entirely new when merged with another. He views Los Angeles not just as a backdrop for this cultural dialogue, but as a crucible where novel cultural identities are forged. The design approach by Studio Paul Chan acknowledges cultural identity as a fluid construct, continuously accumulating and transforming over time. Instead of direct replication, the interior juxtaposes familiar elements and spatial cues from Hong Kong with the vibrant context of Los Angeles.
Adaptive Spaces and Material Narratives
Paul Chan ingeniously organized the former industrial space into a series of distinct yet interconnected environments. Velvet curtains, rather than rigid walls, provide flexible partitions, allowing the layout to seamlessly adapt for various functions such as shopping, art exhibitions, discussions, and performances. Mirrored partitions discreetly conceal rooms, crafting moments of unexpected discovery as visitors navigate the store. This design strategy draws inspiration from the layered urban fabric of Hong Kong, where narrow passages, varied scales, and hidden interiors often evoke a sense of spatial exploration. This adaptability ensures that retail activities are seamlessly integrated with LANG's broader social and cultural programming, reinforcing its multifaceted identity.
The material selection is a thoughtful blend of custom mahogany shelving and iridescent mauve moiré wallcoverings, juxtaposed with hand-brushed aluminum clothing displays, vintage fabrics, polished mirrors, and artisan paper, all set against the building's original concrete shell. Warm timber elements coexist with industrial aluminum, and the raw texture of the existing structure is contrasted with more refined and decorative surfaces. Studio Paul Chan intentionally highlights these material disparities. A similar conceptual thread is evident in the Washi Table, a piece from the studio’s Domestic Ritual furniture collection. Its surface is a mosaic of handmade papers sourced from various East and Southeast Asian regions, including Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This diverse assemblage of fibers, textures, transparencies, and cultural histories melds into a cohesive surface, serving as a powerful metaphor for the entire project. Here, identity is not defined by a single symbol but rather by the rich accumulation of diverse elements.
Everyday Objects as Collective Cultural Touchstones
At the core of the LANG store, a large circular upholstered lounge dominates nearly half of the floor area, signaling that communal gathering is as vital to the space's purpose as retail display. The custom upholstery, a collaboration with Los Angeles textile studio SUAY, draws its color scheme from the ubiquitous red, white, and blue woven utility bags commonly found in Hong Kong. These bags, associated with hardware stores, construction sites, and street markets, are not directly reproduced but rather inform an architectural surface through their distinctive palette. Further enhancing the sense of everyday familiarity, cushions echoing the striped towels of traditional cha chaan teng cafés introduce another common reference. These carefully chosen details subtly shift the focus from overt symbols of Hong Kong to objects deeply embedded in routine and shared collective experiences.
Suspended above the lounge, an installation of four tiers of handmade paper lanterns, each individually adorned with colloquial Cantonese phrases, creates a focal point. Inspired by the aged lanterns often seen outside Cantonese opera houses and local festivals, this arrangement functions simultaneously as ambient lighting, a visual landmark, and a central gathering spot. Behind mirrored partitions, the fitting rooms employ reflections to blur the physical boundaries of the space, while a luminous ceiling bathes the area in a soft, even light. This intentionally ambiguous effect contrasts with the store's other familiar references, creating a space where traditional orientation is less certain, thereby directly expressing the project's interest in navigating multiple cultural contexts. Another installation evokes Hong Kong's neighborhood newsstands. Instead of a literal recreation, Studio Paul Chan overlays vintage advertisements and printed ephemera to capture their informal and bustling atmosphere. This evokes cultural memory through everyday urban rituals: the act of buying a newspaper, perusing printed materials, engaging in brief conversations, and experiencing social interactions alongside commercial transactions.
