This shop was designed to fit inside a small kiosk (around a ventilation shaft) in the departure / arrivals hall of the Taichung High Speed Train Station in Wuri, Taichung City, Central Taiwan.

OTOP is a BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) government project that is inspired by the Thai “One Town – One Product” crafts and speciality tourist product promotion scheme. The BOT partner commissioned 3 shops from us over a 2 year period. This one in the Taichung THSR (Taiwan High Speed Rail) Station, one in the Zuoying THSR terminal in Kaohsiung and one on the waterfront of the famous Sun Moon Lake tourist destination in Yuchi, Nantou County.

The design takes it’s cue from the structure of the kiosk which has a hexagonal plan and is made of steel tubes and perforated steel screens. Into this hi-tech architecture we fitted an inviting, soft, oval space constructed of bamboo-veneered, wooden surfaces and glass hanging shelving. A special feature is the “bamboo thicket” of individual display light-boxes nestling in the “bamboos” surrounding and concealing the ventilation shaft around which the kiosk is erected.

To create “People Pull”, exterior design and routing are planned and integrated as an arranged experience.  The products themselves (Product Push), hand-crafted products ranging from traditional teapots to aboriginal weavings and the speciality products ranging from hand-rolled, high-mountain teas to home-made soya sauce cohabit the small but intimate space comfortably and harmoniously.