Sci-fi design lights up high tech sportswear store

Project: X-Bionic

Location: Beijing, China

Award: Individual Project Interiors: Lighting Projects, Gold, 2023

Design Practice: Studio Illumine and PJ Design Group

Client: X-Bionic

The X-Bionic Flagship Store in Beijing, renowned for its high-tech sportswear, appointed Studio Illumine as its lighting designer. Collaborating with PJ Design Group, the team has conveyed the brand's philosophy of 'thinking beyond the possible' through a futuristic sci-fi design.

Inspired by sci-fi films like Blade Runner and Tron, the store's design resembles a futuristic space shuttle. Lighting fixtures are custom designed to resemble satellite wings and clustered downlights simulating LED pixels enhance the sci-fi aesthetics. Visual hierarchy is key, hero products are strategically illuminated as the brightest focal points in-store amid a material and colour-dynamic space. Neutral white temperature lighting (4000K) with a high Colour Rendering Index (>90) preserves the true colours of the products.

Design highlights

X-Lab, the central archive area, serves as the power station of the store. Curved LED linear lights and tube lights bring the central interactive column, and the sportswear display podiums to life. Their colours are programmed to change in-sync with the background video reel. Darker pockets are created in areas without product displays, adopting a lighting contrast of 5:1 ratio, heightening the sensory experience in-store.