ICICLE Shop Facade

At the end of 2018, the flagship store of the ICICLE fashion label opened in Shanghai; gmp designed the two-story facade for the shop. The overall concept focuses on reduction, transparency, and uniformity of materials. The frame and structure of the shop facade have been kept to a minimum and, similar to the typical ICICLE styling, can be seen as an understatement. Above the entrance area is a curtain of 800 porcelain tubes reaching all the way to the upper floor. The tubes come from Jingdezhen, the center of Chinese porcelain manufacture since the Ming Dynasty, where they were hand-made using traditional methods. They consist of pure white porcelain with a satin glaze. Slight irregularities in their shape and in the glaze are evidence of the craftsmanship. The architects have chosen ceramics, a natural material, as the main element that forms a contrast to the dark gray metal profiles of the shop window front. The loadbearing structure of the facade consists of a steel frame, which is self-supporting and has been placed in front of the shell construction of the building. The metal cladding of the frame conceals the loadbearing structure, which made it possible to glaze the entire area of the shop front. The six triple-glazed panes are 50 mm thick and 5.40 meters high and, together with the steel frame and steel cable suspension, are part of the structural scheme.