Project Overview

KOHLER is a global family of brands which its design is always related to art. In this project, the aim is to present this showroom as an art gallery to make people focus on its essence of design. The location is near one of Taipei's the busiest streets. KOHLER means an elegant living style, which can be read like books. The designer starts afresh to use a design concept “art & reading”. From the inspiration of curves of flipping books, he implants playful elements with wood, steel, terrazzo and FRP to create a white, pure and artistic environment with blurring the boundary between spaces.

Project Commissioner

X-Line Design

Project Creator

X-Line Design

Project Brief

KOHLER is a global family of brands, especially for Kitchen & Bath. In the past 142 years, its design is related to art, such as the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the cooperation with artists, etc. In this project, the aim is to present this showroom as an art gallery. It is so refreshing that using a space to make products be focused on its essence of design, and it arouses our curiosity for more stories and spirits about KOHLER. The location is near one of Taipei's the busiest streets, and there is one huge, clear transparent window on three sides of KEC. According to the analysis of surrounding traffic flow and lights, the priority for each side is confirmed to refine the space, and the designer starts afresh to use a new design concept “art & reading”. KOHLER means an elegant living style, which can be read like books. From the inspiration of curves of flipping books, the designer implants playful elements with wood, steel, terrazzo and FRP to create a white, pure and artistic environment. By blurring the boundary between spaces, it was expressed in four art forms, including Pure Art, Installation Art, Living Art, and Living, to interact with people.

Project Innovation/Need

Kohler is a brand with history, therefore, we designed a shop which can present its story. The differences between the Kohler Flagship Store and regular showroom is that it is not just a demonstration store where customers just come in and see the products, this is a place where Kohler can presents its value, its history, its story after all this years to all of their customer. To let the customers know that Kohler’s value is more than what they can see with their eyes. Through the design which was inspired by the flipping book pages, Walls become pages, store become a book, showing their products and story behind it on the walls like the content in a history book. Combine the product and the story behind it into this space, this showroom is more than a retail store, but the essence of this brand after 142 years.

Design Challenge

Our challenge was not only to design a beautiful showroom, but also able to show public their story behind the brand. As mentioned in the previous passage, our client, Kohler is a brand with history, therefore we wish to create a space where they can present its story, its legacy and its uniqueness to the public, which is a regular showroom will not be able to present. Furthermore, the Kohler flagship store Taipei is one of only nine flagship stores of Kohler group around the globe, which means this showroom will not just be a retail space, but also represent the image of Kohler Taiwan Company to the people in Taiwan.

Sustainability

Our approach to sustainability is to use the green building material for our interior furnish as much as possible. Especially the material we chose for display station and reception. All of the display station and the reception desk are made from the fiberglass material, which is not only a certified green building material, also well known for its durability for long term uses. For a space like showroom, it is very important to use the material which can last for a long time in order to cope with the people come and go every day. Intumescent paint is used for this project in order to increase the public safety level of this project.