Expanding on the popular NIO House concept – a series of member’s lounges where NIO owners can relax, connect and work--Kokaistudios’ design for NIO Hongqiao Airport brings the client’s signature hospitality product to an airport for the first time, fusing elements of sustainable retail, luxury hospitality and brand experience for a space that promises guests much more than a typical pre-flight lounge.

Set in a high-exposure area close to boarding gates, the project comprises two portions; a freestanding rectangular lounge zone and an adjacent retail space that houses the debut location for NIO’s sustainable fashion label Blue Sky Lab. Both have been created with sophisticated light-box facades that feature diffused lighting between a sandblasted glass screen and a layer of anodised aluminium, which on approach creates a moment of striking geometric interplay as the sleek flowing curves of the lounge are offset by the solid volume of the store.

Presenting Kokaistudios with a challenging layout, and a series of both logistical limitations and regulatory obstacles due to the highly controlled setting, NIO Hongqiao Airport nonetheless presents VIP guests with an oasis amidst a bustling travel hub, and car owners with a fresh, progressive extension to the NIO lifestyle and branded community experience.

The airport setting presented a different set of usage scenarios than previous NIO Houses. The introduction of Hongqiao airport’s majority internal business travel demographic meant the space was required to retain the informal communal core whilst instilling elements that fostered privacy and focus.

As such, Kokaistudios’ design for the lounge is composed as a procession of different functionalities, beginning with a reception and open talking lounge with a self-service bar at its centre, before moving into a quiet lounge and a semi-enclosed private chamber to the rear.

Whilst the quiet lounges were unable to be completely enclosed due to strict airport fire safety rules, Kokaistudios’ solution was to create a series of screen-partitioned private nooks with individual recliners and personal tables that lead into a final chamber space. This final room can be adapted to suit both a family looking for a place to recharge or a team meeting before an important business call, and is styled as a moment of calming respite that creates a sense of temporary belonging feelings for guests on the move.

Intended as both a showcase of NIO’s popular fashion brand and its innovative approach to garment construction, Kokaistudios’ design for the retail concept’s debut venue captures Blue Sky Lab’s forward-thinking core values of urban, exploration and energy as a dynamic, fluid setting reflective of both procedure and product.

Incorporating clothing and accessory display cases alongside pedestals that highlight the catalogue of recycled car by-products used to create the collections on sale, Blue Sky Lab also features reflective mirrored glass overhead to counter the structure’s lowered ceiling, adding both a sense of space and modernist wonder.