Platinum Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design · 2024
Muji Eco Pavilion in Emptiness Exhibition Space
by Chenzhu Sun
- A' Design Award 2024 Platinum Winner in Trade Show Architecture, Interiors, and Exhibit Design
- Awarded April 15, 2024
- CLIENT: FORTH FORCE（Shanghai Tan Gen Cultural Communication Co., Ltd）
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 1,332,255
- Verification code 84DE0E4BF3 · Verify this award
About Muji Eco Pavilion in Emptiness Exhibition Space
In 2023, during the China International Import Expo, Atelier Forth Force specially designed a pavilion consisting of 7,524 interlocking wooden components. That was the exclusive pavilion for Muji, dedicated to the brand spirit: Nature, Naturally and Muji. Throughout the 6 day exhibition, as the pavilion wall transitioned from existence to non existence, 1,254 visitors to the Muji pavilion took away the screen system. Following the dismantling of the wall, the wooden components would be reassembled into a set of storage systems suitable for home use.
Chenzhu Sun's Eco Pavilion represents a significant achievement within contemporary exhibition design, demonstrating how sustainable material choices and rigorous geometric systems can elevate temporary architecture into profound spatial experience. The installation engages meaningfully with traditions of Japanese minimalist aesthetics while contributing to broader contemporary conversations regarding environmental responsibility in commercial display contexts. The designer appears to have conceived the lattice structure as both practical enclosure and philosophical statement, where the repetitive cellular pattern suggests meditation on emptiness as generative principle rather than mere absence. The technical accomplishment lies in the successful integration of natural timber modules into a coherent architectural whole that maintains structural integrity while achieving remarkable visual lightness and permeability. Each wooden element participates in the larger compositional logic, creating rhythm through systematic repetition that rewards sustained contemplation. The chromatic relationship between warm wood tones and bold crimson typography demonstrates sophisticated understanding of color harmony, establishing brand presence without overwhelming the material poetry of the structure itself. The elevated white plinth functions as ceremonial threshold, transitioning visitors from the industrial exhibition floor into a more contemplative spatial register. One might observe how the lattice membrane mediates between interior sanctuary and exterior environment, creating graduated zones of intimacy while maintaining visual connection with the surrounding context. The work invites consideration of how commercial exhibition spaces might embrace slower, more thoughtful engagement rather than aggressive visual competition. Viewers are encouraged to contemplate how the interplay of light through the woven structure transforms throughout the day, and how the concept of productive emptiness might apply to their own relationship with material consumption and spatial experience.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- In 2023, during the China International Import Expo , we especially designed a pavilion which consisted of 7,524 interlocking wooden components. This is the exclusive pavilion for MUJI, dedicated to brand spirit: Nature, Naturally & MUJI.
During the 6-day exhibition, as the pavilion wall transitioned from existence to non-existence, 1,254 visitors to the MUJI pavilion took away the screen system. After the dismantling of the wall, the wooden components will be reassembled into a set of storage systems suitable for home use. Moreover, these components are designed to seamlessly match the dimensions of MUJI's existing furniture cabinets. Each participating visitor is the co-creator of this project, bringing the concept of sustainability into their lives. The design of this storage system also implements the MUJI’s Brand concept of “Nature, Naturally & MUJI”. It is well interpreted in the exhibition industry, where resource waste is extremely serious.
MUJI's "minimalist" philosophy is not simply about removing unnecessary decoration to achieve a simple appearance, but about creating an ultimate "emptiness" that is pure and without any limitations in terms of usage methods and product images. Emptiness is a state of infinite freedom.
An exhibition hall has been cleared can bring infinite creative beauty to life. We are appreciated to every audience who has participated in helping us complete the new concept MUJI Eco-Museum. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 20000mm x Depth 20000mm
- Tags
- Sustainability,Pavilion,Exhibition,Commercial
- Production Technology
- The main materials of the MUJI Eco-Pavilion are environmentally friendly wood, recycled ocean plastic, biodegradable agricultural materials, and reusable metal. The wooden components of the pavilion's walls will be taken away by 1254 visitors and reassembled into a home storage system that matches the dimensions of MUJI's existing furniture. Every participating visitor will become a co-builder of this project, bringing sustainable concepts into their lives, and this storage system design also embodies the brand concept of MUJI in the extremely wasteful exhibition industry.
- Design Challenge
- The design of the MUJI Eco-Pavilion is a rare example in the Chinese exhibition industry of practicing sustainable design from the aspects of design, structural production, construction, and dismantling. It not only applies environmentally friendly and natural materials but also for the design of conventional exhibition that considers how to make normal construction materials exist in a new way from the beginning, and makes construction waste "turn waste into treasure" to become the daily life storage products of the audience.
- Project Duration
- The project was exhibited in the China International Import Expo in November 2023
- Operation Flow
- During the 6-day exhibition, as the pavilion wall transitioned from existence to non-existence, 1,254 visitors to the MUJI pavilion took away the screen system. After the dismantling of the wall, the wooden components will be reassembled into a set of storage systems suitable for home use.
- Inspiration
- MUJI's "minimalist" philosophy is not simply about removing unnecessary decoration to achieve a simple appearance, but about creating an ultimate "emptiness" that is pure and without any limitations in terms of usage methods and product images. Emptiness is a state of infinite freedom.
An exhibition hall has been cleared can bring infinite creative beauty to life. - Patents
- The project is Patent Pending
Colors of Muji Eco Pavilion in Emptiness Exhibition Space
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