The Ideas Lab in Shanghai, China, is yet another bold project by architect-designer Li Xiang, founder of X+Living. Her team for this project included Fan Chen, Yan Xiafei and Chen Xue.

The 1,100 square-metre (11,840 sq. ft) completely reconfigured space includes retail, research and office space for the massive Powerlong Group whose business interests cover, for example, real estate, hospitality, tourism, culture, arts, industry and information.

The aim was to create a space where the company’s researchers, office staff and retail customers could connect with each other and develop and experience information technology of the future.

The overall design theme is a fusion of the Industrial Age and the Age of Technology with a few ornate gothic visual elements added on for interest.

The designers used the visual and material language of the typical components of factory environments: elevated metal walkways, massive tanks, utility pipes.