Calling on six dragons to drive the carriage to Mount Fusang. Toasting with the North Star, I offer each dragon a glass of fine wine.

Fusions: Retro Revival. Oriental Splendor. Tangibility. Mystical Duality

From the river of time a fragment of long-lost time is excavated, attempting to recreate an authentic epic of the 18th-Century using Chinoiserie as the foundation, blended with the delicate and dramatic decadence of Rococo. Sounds of a distant Eastern utopia, chimes and ceremonial music could be heard in the distance. As Chinese art flourishes around the world, nurtured by exotic cultures, it evokes dreamscapes of the Orient; a visual poetry. 

Starting Point: the Year of the Dragon, Embracing the Old, Usher In the New

2024, the Year of the Dragon symbolizes the transitioning of eras and renewal of all things. Located in Beijing, the ancient capital of the five dynasties, and birthplace of dragon culture. With the dragon as the central motif, its symbolic weight and cultural authority are highlighted. In Beijing's bustling center of Sanlitun, we tell a spatial story of the "Dragon Kingdom" from a Western viewpoint.

Spirit of the Space: Western Wind the Dragon's Roar, Cultures Entwined

Amidst the jungle of steel commercial streets, discover a hidden sanctuary: the "crouching dragon". The project introduces an Oriental perspective, Chinoiserie meets the romantic fantasy of Rococo: Western dreams of Eastern art.

Not only a symbol for imperial authority, the Dragon embodies Chinese cultures universal spirit of transformation and growth. During the Ming dynasty, dragon motifs reached the pinnacle of decoration, especially during the Yongle period, when Zheng He's seven voyages across the seas made the dragon a symbol of global cultural exchange.

The Swan is in everything.

Continuous lines drift across a series of canvases forming the intersecting swans with a fitting grace. It was this painting, ‘Swans’ (2022) by Gary Hume, that embedded itself in the mind of Chris Shao, the seed from which the Black Swan concept grew.

"There's no illusion of three-dimensional space in the works, but there is plenty of time: light time, because they change throughout the day.”
— Gary Hume on ‘Swans’

Chris Shao Studio followed the intrigue of their founder and delved deeper into Hume’s mind and work. Hume’s idea of “light time” was reinterpreted and reimagined through an interior focussed lens. Hume highlights the subtle beauty that occurs when nature and art passively meet. These interactions can require patience, Chris Shao Studio engineers the phenomenon through thoughtful execution.

On the first floor of the Luo Hong Photography Art Museum, the main dining area sits in view of an oriental landscape garden. Patrons are not only fed fine French cuisine but a fusion of simple modernist design and rich natural beauty.

Swans float in the lake while diners look on with a full view. Threaded throughout each room is the swan form, in some overt and other more gestural ways. The foyer desk emulates the Swan while a Coroline Sarkozy designed chandelier centers the area, and foretells the overall design of the space with Swan-like layers of cascading feathers.

Real swans provides diners in the main dining with a moment's pause, in the presence of the creature’s grace. In Chinese culture the black swan has come to describe something incredibly rare. The something rare of the Black Swan project is its delicate and intricate approach to details. It invites you to look on and appreciate. Black Swan is a place out in the open, and yet, somehow feels like a secret whispered.

The muted interior palette mirrors the swan’s elegance, floating it seamlessly from room to room and creating cohesion. Texture and material are blended, layer upon layer, offering patrons textural vignettes for their eyes to sink into. Subdued colors enable the lavish and diverse use of material, flowing with a movement reminiscent of the swan. Stone, plaster, velvet and metals collide in excess while monochromatic shades maintain harmony.

The Black Swan is an ode to its muse, quiet luxury and elegance. The sublime is given four walls, the natural and man-made synchronize to articulate the uncomplicated: the swan can be found everywhere and in everything if you use the right light to find it.

A Japanese chef and a Chinese pastry chef dare to do French-Japanese cuisine (in Paris and now China). Opening a second to their Michelin-recognized Parisian restaurant in Shanghai.

Ortensia blends Parisian sentiment, Japanese sophistication and a unique Shanghai charm on the foundational elements of the hydrangea (“Hortensia”) and the distinctive traits of Shikumen architecture. On the second floor these retro characteristics are retained while the French panel design echoes the language of the building. The traditional and contemporary are presented in harmony with an emphasis on luxury. 

Hydrangeas among the greenery are the first thing you see, nestled on the small Shikumen patio. The flower reverberates throughout the space; the entrance desks is a skeleton bud, ornate metal flowers embellish the panels, while open petals grown on a nearby wall.The central flower installation, in a curved form combining the feminine and masculine, is inspired by the hydrangea and becomes the visual focal point of the space.  

The spacious VIP room’s gradient high-gloss paint, combined with fabric gradient light fixtures creates a shimmering effect, providing a visual hierarchy and making the overall space more dynamic and balanced. The light temperature is mellow throughout, trickling from overhead floral light installations, leaving shadows on the velvet walls. 

A bronze etched mirror commissioned by Charlotte Kingsnorth hangs behind the card table, around its edge a hand treatment evokes the hydrangea and visually presents a rumination on the transition of space and time through intricate textures and reductions.

Splashed bright colors and intriguing textures among the palette shades of yellow, green, red and brown. A visually nuanced and distinguished dining experience is rendered in delicate details and rich layers all synchronizing the natural beauty of the Hydrangea, Shanghai’s rich cultural charm without losing the understated elegance Japan does so well.

Inside China’s first electrically powered flour mill, a structural embodiment of the country's entrepreneurial spirit, is now a residence of quiet luxury devoted to the modern art lover.

The upper villa is an art gallery of Shanghai culture for living and dreaming. Western art and local philosophies of the home are blended to create a modernist space for basking in the rich historical and cultural heritage surrounding the residence. Find a place of refinement and grace amidst the bustling city. 

From large interior windows view the Suzhou River, ever changing color and light shimmer from the water's surface. Natural light brightens the inside from the outside, an interplay of space and sunshine on show every hour. Artistic functional furniture emphasizes the comfort and character of the living space.

 Folding doors separate the study and the living room allowing for versatility and interaction amongst family members. Leather trim and decorative accents adorn the staircase leading to the private bedroom area on the fourth floor. Wake in the master bedroom to a frontal view of the Suzhou River, every day glistening water and burgeoning light are only just behind the curtains. 

 Step into a space of meticulously considered design details and eclectic contemporary aesthetics. In celebration of visual art and the art of living, this is not merely a home but a gallery intended to grow and evolve alongside an inspired collector’s vision. Share what is cherished and live amongst beauty and creativity. This is the place.

Inside China’s first electrically powered flour mill, a structural embodiment of the country's entrepreneurial spirit, is now a residence of quiet luxury devoted to the modern art lover.

A stream of zen-like serenity, the Lower Villa prioritizes ease and free flow with a layout emphasizing smooth and natural transitions throughout. Natural light and air move within the area while sight lines find harmony intertwining freely; disparate and dynamic features that complete this comfortable and tranquil home.  

Wood, stone, micro-cement, and flora combine compounding the rich natural textures and patterns at play. Metal surfaces provide a delicate contrast to the organic materials and offer a multi-dimensional modernist depth. Returning home is returning to one’s heart, a place of balance and restoration strung between nature and contemporary luxury. Playful illusions surprise the eye, the first-floor staircase doubles as a suspended sculpture with dynamic curves like brushstrokes. 

The area for family interaction is the artistic mezzanine, while the second-floor bedroom is a secluded sanctuary of privacy. The master bathroom becomes a bright lifesize frame to the scenic views of Suzhou River. In search of rejuvenation, the basement serves as a secret getaway inside the home, find a tea room flooded with light and soft curved surfaces all around. An art studio and garage wait to be discovered, blank bright spaces made to be filled. 

Designed as a place of untraceable transcendence, objects blend seamlessly. Understated minimal spaces offer quiet moments for residents. Reality and fantasy collude to create a place unlike any other. It's a blank space for living, simply follow the soft lines to find a soul-enriching space designed for serenity.  

Every chef knows remarkable food is a result of the near impossible to explain, a richly nuanced experience that EHB chef Esben Holmboe-Bang knows better than most. In developing this project, we sought to emphasize this, China’s historical heritage of botanic medicine melding science and nature, as well as the unique culinary skill of such a distinct chef. Finding balance in the artistry of materials, EHB is a careful concoction of honoring the existing while expressing the contemporary.

Upon entering EHB the references to nature, organic form and botanicals are instantly apparent. Drawing from Holmboe-Bang's culinary philosophy, the first floor’s design pays homage to Norway, the chef’s use of organic, biodynamic and wild produce. Meanwhile in Oslo, Norway where Chef Holmboe-Bang’s 3-Michelin starred restaurant Maaemo resides, ingredients are sourced from local forests. Local flora and fauna is handpicked by dedicated floor and kitchen staff -- giving new meaning to ‘farm to table’.

EHB exists inside of a historical villa in Shanghai’s French Concession district, a culturally unique neighborhood and environment that pays respects to architectural heritage. The surrounding consulates and grand residences provided a foundation for the restaurant’s initial design, as well as a continual source of inspiration. In the early 20th century well known residents included the Soong family - V.T. Soong, and Soong Mei-Ling (Madame Chiang), calling the villa home for some time.

Guests are invited to experience luxury redefined, one where simplicity and natural elements are emphasized. An opulent experience in harmony with refined details -- sleek wood, natural stones, raw-effect metals and venetian plaster finishes come together to create an effortless naturalistic environment. This conversation between the organic, the subtle refinement of Norway and China’s historical blending of science and nature goes on throughout the space.

In the Afternoon Tea and Private Dining rooms, a light and neutral palette works to allow the food and flavor shine. Chinoiserie-style wallcoverings paired with traditionally derived mortise-and-tenon details pay homage to both the architecture of the existing structure, and the local vernacular. Classic western paneling and flooring showcase details that mimic the mortise-and-tenon joint found within Asian architecture, in addition to the modern furnishings of Scandinavia. These details are usually hidden and constructed of wood, here, a usually enigmatic concept celebrated and made palpable, its final form a bronze metal.

The essence of Norway is most apparent in the main dining and lounge floors, in homage to the cooking philosophy of Holmboe-Bang. The ground floor celebrates the project’s Chinese and natural underpinnings, its second and third floors use native Nordic design forms, materials and colors, to honor the esteemed Chef 's distinctive dining experience.

Whilst maintaining the integrity of the architecture of the original villa, a more minimal and modern approach has been taken towards the design of the second-floor dining room. Dark, rich materials are applied to the interior architecture and furnishings, opting for a heavier atmosphere, where frivolous details could lack. This contrast to the ground floor is emphasized by the beauty of woods and metals, highlighted for an intended contrast.

One of the more architecturally rich spaces is the third-floor, where the lounge is located. This experience engages each guest from start to finish, where the Chef invites diners to his ‘living room’ for pre and post dinner hospitality. The existing structure of the open ceiling with exposed trusses and beams of mortise-and-tenon construction, is quintessential to the overall atmosphere of the space. An original fireplace sets the stage of the lounge, and the furnishing and architectural finishes are in keeping with the surrounds, whilst maintaining an element of Scandinavian influence. So that the lounge could sustain a feeling of intimacy whilst ensuring programmatic function, the wine tasting room has been placed in a visual and physically central location to purposefully create semi-private nooks for groups of diners, but also to encourage guests to be intrigued. Its glass sides allow for visual continuity and uses the wine itself as a design element in the space. More notably, the paneled entrance has been designed to evoke the monumental and undulating nature of a Nordic Fjord.

Every chef knows remarkable food is a result of the near impossible to explain, a richly nuanced experience that EHB chef Esben Holmboe-Bang knows better than most. In developing this project, we sought to emphasize this, China’s historical heritage of botanic medicine melding science and nature, as well as the unique culinary skill of such a distinct chef. Finding balance in the artistry of materials, EHB is a careful concoction of honoring the existing while expressing the contemporary.

Upon entering EHB the references to nature, organic form and botanicals are instantly apparent. Drawing from Holmboe-Bang's culinary philosophy, the first floor’s design pays homage to Norway, the chef’s use of organic, biodynamic and wild produce. Meanwhile in Oslo, Norway where Chef Holmboe-Bang’s 3-Michelin starred restaurant Maaemo resides, ingredients are sourced from local forests. Local flora and fauna is handpicked by dedicated floor and kitchen staff -- giving new meaning to ‘farm to table’.

EHB exists inside of a historical villa in Shanghai’s French Concession district, a culturally unique neighborhood and environment that pays respects to architectural heritage. The surrounding consulates and grand residences provided a foundation for the restaurant’s initial design, as well as a continual source of inspiration. In the early 20th century well known residents included the Soong family - V.T. Soong, and Soong Mei-Ling (Madame Chiang), calling the villa home for some time.

Guests are invited to experience luxury redefined, one where simplicity and natural elements are emphasized. An opulent experience in harmony with refined details -- sleek wood, natural stones, raw-effect metals and venetian plaster finishes come together to create an effortless naturalistic environment. This conversation between the organic, the subtle refinement of Norway and China’s historical blending of science and nature goes on throughout the space.

In the Afternoon Tea and Private Dining rooms, a light and neutral palette works to allow the food and flavor shine. Chinoiserie-style wallcoverings paired with traditionally derived mortise-and-tenon details pay homage to both the architecture of the existing structure, and the local vernacular. Classic western paneling and flooring showcase details that mimic the mortise-and-tenon joint found within Asian architecture, in addition to the modern furnishings of Scandinavia. These details are usually hidden and constructed of wood, here, a usually enigmatic concept celebrated and made palpable, its final form a bronze metal.

The essence of Norway is most apparent in the main dining and lounge floors, in homage to the cooking philosophy of Holmboe-Bang. The ground floor celebrates the project’s Chinese and natural underpinnings, its second and third floors use native Nordic design forms, materials and colors, to honor the esteemed Chef 's distinctive dining experience.

Whilst maintaining the integrity of the architecture of the original villa, a more minimal and modern approach has been taken towards the design of the second-floor dining room. Dark, rich materials are applied to the interior architecture and furnishings, opting for a heavier atmosphere, where frivolous details could lack. This contrast to the ground floor is emphasized by the beauty of woods and metals, highlighted for an intended contrast.

One of the more architecturally rich spaces is the third-floor, where the lounge is located. This experience engages each guest from start to finish, where the Chef invites diners to his ‘living room’ for pre and post dinner hospitality. The existing structure of the open ceiling with exposed trusses and beams of mortise-and-tenon construction, is quintessential to the overall atmosphere of the space. An original fireplace sets the stage of the lounge, and the furnishing and architectural finishes are in keeping with the surrounds, whilst maintaining an element of Scandinavian influence. So that the lounge could sustain a feeling of intimacy whilst ensuring programmatic function, the wine tasting room has been placed in a visual and physically central location to purposefully create semi-private nooks for groups of diners, but also to encourage guests to be intrigued. Its glass sides allow for visual continuity and uses the wine itself as a design element in the space. More notably, the paneled entrance has been designed to evoke the monumental and undulating nature of a Nordic Fjord.

I visited Chef Christopher Kostow in the spring of 2018 at his farm in St. Helena, CA. During our initial design briefing conversation for Ensue, he asked me “what is your definition of luxury?”. My response was that, to me, emotion evokes the greatest sense of luxury, as identifying luxury itself is a very deep and personal response to something. Chef Kostow then pointed to a tree in his farm and told me that that was his luxury. At that moment, I made up my mind that in the process of designing his restaurant I was going bring an unpretentious naturalism into the urban landscape of Shenzhen that would be emotive, yet effortless.

Inspired by the aesthetics of wabi-sabi, Chef Kostow represents his cuisine in the simplest form, but with the most intricate philosophy. In the design mechanism of Ensue, I aim to find a new emotional representation of luxury, achieved through unifying local vernacular, with contemporary ideas. A fusion of eastern ideas and philosophy, with western execution will create a space that evokes a new sense of style and elegance. This concept, executed with a wabi-sabi aesthetic that celebrates transience and imperfection, cohesively suggests “a Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence, specifically impermanence, suffering and emptiness or absence of self-nature.” – Leonard Koren. Furthermore, the space embodies an interesting interaction between the ideas of fire and ice; two sensory, visual and conceptually jarring circumstances, that are unified in a way to create a calming sense of balance.

In Ensue, I also personified many design intentions based on my Chinese upbringing. I explored the work of local artisans and manufacturers around Canton region, to rethink and redefine the modern meaning of Made-in-China in the design industry. With more pride and few disappointments, Ensue really evokes a new thinking of my culture that until now, is yet to be explored in relation to design. Being so personal, this entire process was an emotional one. This project is my new definition of “luxury”.

As complicated as it may sound to you, I take great pleasure in inviting you on this journey curated by Chris Shao Studio; as the name states, to discover the emotional response that will Ensue.

----------- CHRIS SHAO

Standing in front of the restored Brunner Mond Building, the ethereal and distant vision of transitioning away from the abstract became concrete. This is our stage, where a prologue to the new story of Grand Banks is presented.

In 1921, Brunner Mond, a foreign bank engaged in the soap business, bought the land on the south side intersection of Sichuan, and Fuzhou Road. This land later became the headquarters of Brunner Mond in China. The Building was created in a neoclassical style, with characteristic three horizontal columns in its facade. These columns along with the bronze cast iron gate, imitation stone facade, French windows, and lost sculpture of Atlanta, all pay homage to the golden age of Shanghai, when East encountered West.

Since then, the former foreign bank has changed owners and undergone many rounds of repair and renovation giving us today’s Brunner Building, completed in 2019. By continually referencing the building’s archives and images of different historical periods, the two-year project aimed to revitalize the historical building, enhancing its overall appearance through repairing and restoring damaged carvings in accordance with the heritage regulations of minimum intervention, reversibility and integrity. “The greatest charm of the architectural complex in the Bund”, Chris Shao shares in his own words, “is that alongside the historical weights they possessed, these old buildings are also waiting for the inscription of contemporary souls and meanings”. In the old neighborhood, where the atmosphere of metropolis intertwines with civil life, and history meets humanistic spirits, Grand Banks is born.

Adding to the culinary landscape in Shenzhen, L’Avenue is the first of its kind – a Parisian bistro that embodies the soul of progressive Parisian cooking and exquisite French taste. Through the food, L’Avenue evokes memories of the French capital for those who have been.

Compared to Michelin-starred restaurants, sometimes it’s the small Parisian bistros tucked away in alleys which captivate the heart. Bistronomy is a culinary trend that began in the 1990s which combined bistro culture with gastronomy.

Giving up the formalities of fine dining, young aspiring chefs broke the barriers and showcased their culinary prowess through expertly cooked food in a convival atmosphere. Bistronomy has now become a vital part of French culinary culture and perfectly represents Parisian elegance and way of living.

Over the past decade, this new generation of young chefs have brought the bistronomy trend all over the world. Shenzhen is a city that nurtures limitless possibilities and has an eclectic urban temperament, which coincides perfectly with what Executive Chef Arran McCredie wants to convey through his cuisine.

Dining at L’Avenue is a refined but casual affair, with a market-driven and regularly rotating menu that offers contemporary bistro classics using only the finest quality of ingredients.

‘Let’s take risks and create something with our passion’. Arran is an adventurer - fiercely determined, boundlessly creative and likes to take on challenges. He has honed skills from many world renowned institutes in Australian, UK to most recently one Michelin star Belon in Hong Kong.

His experience at Belon was particularly enlightening. ‘One of the main things I learned was to never compromise. From the quality of the ingredients, the cooking technique or keeping mise en place from the day before. We would never do anything to make our lives easier if it had a detrimental effect on the food. You can taste it when the sauce is made fresh for every service. This is something I will definitely continue.’

Now, he brings with him a kaleidoscope of culinary influences, ready to introduce his vision of Parisian bistro to Shenzhen.