A WINDOW TO KOREA

Sitting at the bottom of a Chinese tenement building in one of Hong Kong’s most historical districts revitalized with handicraft shops as well as trendy cafes, K-Stuff is a lively Korean lifestyle store offering customers a glimpse into the Korean culture.

The store is designed to be one open-plan space with interconnected retail area, food-takeaway station and workshop. Taking cues from Hanok — a traditional Korean house, which windows and doors are purposely placed to act as frames to its surroundings as to connect nearby rooms and open up the living space. Different areas in the store are framed strategically in a similar way by the openings created by the tall aluminum cabinets at the center. The visual connection provides a sense of continuity that bridges the gap of various on-going activities beyond the products.

To bring light into the store, a variety of custom matte acrylic light tubes are installed throughout the store to arranged in specific patterns inspired by the traditional Korean window frames. The light tubes are paired with particular sets of materials in different sections to create a dynamic tonal change from dark to light, cool to warm, catering to the ever-changing events and products in-store. The result is a contemporary Hanok that encourages new discoveries every visit .