TANBOER, a homegrown brand from Qingzhou, China, has firmly established itself as a leading down clothing brand for the frigid northern winters. Over the past 25 years, TANBOER has undergone significant growth, evolving beyond a singular functional focus to align closely with contemporary trends. This evolution has empowered the creation of youthful, diverse, and iconic outdoor functional down apparel. Throughout different periods, TANBOER has consistently embraced its ethos, pursuing the dual ideals of simplicity and technology while promoting a lifestyle that values nature, health, and fashion.
Recently, the brand has launched its sixth-generation outdoor experience concept store within its Smart Technology Park. In conceiving the store, TANBOER and design practice STILL YOUNG drew inspiration from the love and warmth embedded in the brand's DNA and captured Qingzhou's millennia-old cultural heritage to reflect the brand's evolution. The store, infused with the rich cultural essence of the ancient city and a Zen ambiance, offers an innovative, nature-inspired experience that invites consumers to engage with the city’s culture, refreshing the brand's identity and crafting a new spatial story.
1. A Return to Nature
TANBOER Smart Technology Park is nestled at the foot of the tranquil Yunmen Mountain. Designed by the China Academy of Art, the Park features an interplay of trees, lake, stones, and grass, reinterpreting the intimate connection between nature and humanity. TANBOER’s new concept store occupies a corner of the ground floor of a standalone building within the Park, surrounded by serene mountain scenery and vibrant trees. In this natural setting, it seeks to explore infinite new possibilities. STILL YOUNG refreshed the store facade, which articulates a harmonious fusion of the brand's visual symbols and the motif of Qingzhou's ancient city walls, elevating the building's visual identity. This fosters a subtle transition between architecture and nature, serving as both a visual connection and a cultural narrative. The semi-transparent glass facade, adorned with the brand logo, transcends mere decoration; it echoes the art installation on the ground, evoking the relationship between heaven and earth, and between human and nature.
The arched corridor resembles a resting spot encountered during outdoor adventures, relieving travelers' fatigue while allowing gentle, warm sunlight to subtly filter through the interior. The interplay between interior and exterior, as well as between humanity and nature, extends to the architectural space beneath. Entering the store, visitors are greeted by a local context-inspired scene of red rock mountains, which grow amidst chilling glacier crevices, exuding captivating vitality. This design not only captures the natural texture of Qingzhou's mountains but also narrates the brand's journey over the years, reflecting a story of love and warmth.
The red rock mountains and glaciers serve as visual focal points, offering a contrast of warmth and coldness while symbolizing the coexistence of industry and nature. The glaciers and irregular red rock peaks together outline the entire space. Glacier crafted from frosted resin glass and metallic plate define the identity of the counter. Beside the counter, brand display utilizes timber combined with light strips, enhancing a three-dimensional brand image reflected in mirrored stainless steel. Contrasting textures shape clean lines and volumes. Within the softly illuminated atmosphere, these immersive scenes provide a moment of tranquility for every outdoor enthusiast, energizing them through harmonious coexistence with nature.
2. Scenography in a Zen Ambience
Based on the rectangular plane of the architectural space and drawing on the cultural symbols of Qingzhou, the spatial narrative unfolds laterally from the entrance, guiding visitors to explore the city's spirit and the brand's aesthetics, showcasing the brand's diverse focus on scenario-based functional apparel, while allowing for broader possibilities in providing customers with a comprehensive and iterative upgrade experience across all product categories.
The layout categorizes the brand's offerings—sports, children's, business, and outdoor product series—into distinct areas, each featuring tailored display systems and installations. This approach aligns with TANBOER's pursuit of functionality and a seamless, simple design aesthetic across various scenes. With the interplay of red rocks, glaciers, and the city's historical context, the store creates a setting where nature, life, and humanity harmoniously interact. Inspired by the local Buddhist culture, the sports series area emphasizes an atmosphere of stone rhythm and Zen, transforming the space into an immersive sensory experience. The red rocks evoke rugged, rolling mountains, while the wall-mounted display fixture's wood grain echoes Buddhist hand gestures, creating a serene yet solemn ambience.
Children's interests often embody a charming simplicity, reminiscent of nature's unrefined beauty. The children's area resembles an urban oasis, where liveliness and warmth flow through the playful environment. Nature-inspired elements, such as soft cloud-shaped lights, wildflowers sprouting from rocky ground, wooden clothing racks, and luminous brand logo crafted from colorful natural yarn and down filling, enrich the space. Beneath the preserved exposed ceiling structure lies an iconic art installation that resonates with the city's memory. Erecting at the center of the business series area, the industrial metal tree evokes a millennia-old locust tree in the ancient city of Qingzhou, symbolizing the connection between the brand's technology and local culture. Presented with novel, futuristic expressions, this tree imparts a cool, refined texture that contrasts with the natural wildness of glaciers and rocks, adding a harmonious Zen-like balance to the space.
In contrast to the metallic installation, the outdoor series area interprets the old locust tree more intimately, showcasing its authentic look and fostering a realistic outdoor ambiance. Here, nature intertwines with the city's cultural roots, signifying thriving vitality—akin to outdoor adventurers steadfastly climbing in frigid conditions. As shadows cast by irregular hanging ice installations interact with light, the resulting illumination is both divine and pure. Stepping into this space feels like a journey back to ancient Qingzhou, immersed in Buddhist philosophy, effectively linking the brand to the site and the city's history.
3. A Growing Brand Experience
Compared to the strolling experience in the front area, the after-sales service zone, VIP lounge, and fitting rooms in the back emphasize consumer needs, community engagement, and exclusive experiences. Additionally, unique display fixtures customized for the brand are embedded within the walls, highlighting TANBOER's high-loft, high-fill down products, as well as the brand's commitment to sustainability and the ethos of "being friends with nature," conveying that even in extreme cold, users can experience the warmth and reassurance provided by advanced technology.
The after-sales area extends the overall mountain aesthetic, designed with emphasis on brand users' needs. A dedicated repair counter offers specialized maintenance services, from simple stitching to complex down filling, ensuring a smooth, comprehensive, and attentive after-sales experience. Coupled with the fitting rooms, this space breathes sustainable life into each user's apparel. The display racks draw inspiration from needles, threads, and production techniques used in down clothing production, incorporating wood grain and metal materials. This design aims to convey the brand's technological innovation, exceptional craftsmanship, and stringent standards, honoring TANBOER's commitment to protection, warmth, and legacy, while imbuing every adventure with deeper meaning and emotion.
The VIP lounge encapsulates the essence of grotto imagery, with layers of light and shadow cascading over the winding wood grain, reminiscent of varied depths of mountain gorges. This design amplifies the spatial depth while reducing distractions, allowing visitors to focus on the tranquility of the moment. Semi-enclosed booths enhance social intimacy, and the interplay between artificial skylight and wood grain creates a natural ambiance filled with aspiration and vitality.
From architectural impression to spatial experience, this store instantly transports visitors back to the familiar Buddhist scenes of ancient Qingzhou. With deep insights into the strong connection between a retail environment's commercial value with the city's unique character and historical culture, STILL YOUNG seamlessly integrated the brand's innovative strength into locally inspired, creative scenes within the store.
The spatial narrative of the TANBOER store transcends beyond scene creation; it embodies a brand ethos of love and warmth, alongside a spirit of evolving with the times—a boldness to step beyond comfort zones and embrace the times. Balancing protection and innovation, STILL YOUNG crafted an outdoor vision and lifestyle that stands the test of time for every TANBOER customer.
