Bulgari Shanghai gets a sustainable makeover with a jade-like façade made from recycled champagne bottles by MVRDV

 

Bulgari has opened a new flagship store in Shanghai's Plaza 66, featuring a stunning façade designed by MVRDV. The façade is made from recycled champagne, beer, and other glass bottles and has a green, jade-like appearance. The design is inspired by a mix of influences, including the original Bulgari store in Rome and Shanghai's Art Deco architecture. This innovative and sustainable design is a testament to Bulgari's commitment to the environment while remaining true to the brand's heritage.

This is MVRDV's third collaboration with Bulgari, with the previous designs featuring a visual motif inspired by the portals and cornices of Bulgari's original boutique in Rome. However, unlike previous designs, the Shanghai façade is mostly windowless and uses layered panels with a cornice motif to create an Art Deco-inspired pattern. The Art Deco theme is a common thread between Shanghai and Bulgari, with the city having a rich tradition in this architectural style, and Bulgari's Déco collection characterising its jewellery in the same period.

The façade takes on the materiality of fine jewellery, with panels that resemble China's most precious stone, Jade. The result is a complex design with layer upon layer of cross-cultural references, combining the best of Eastern and Western cultures. The gold-coloured brass trim gives the façade an appearance like jade jewellery. The panels are made of compressed green glass, which creates a translucent finish. At night, a backlight behind the panels gives the façade a striking glow, highlighting the unique textural quality of the glass. The glass is completely recycled and produced at a factory in Germany, which specialises in glass treatment.

The project showcases the potential of sustainable recycled materials, even in luxury contexts. It takes a step towards MVRDV and Bulgari's goal of store designs that use 100% circular economy materials. Meanwhile, the backlight is engineered to minimise the façade's energy footprint, using less than half the energy of a typical comparable installation. Jacob van Rijs, the MRVDV founding partner, says, "Our collaboration with Bulgari has yielded some fascinating material experiments. It's a passion we share with them, albeit in different design disciplines. The Shanghai store encapsulates the value of these experiments: given the right treatment and detailing, leftover champagne and beer bottles, which would otherwise be thrown away, become a jewel for the city."

Bulgari Kuala Lumpur opened in 2018 with a marble-inspired façade illuminated by veins of gold light. Glass-reinforced concrete was cut according to the cornice pattern, filled with resin and illuminated by amber LED Lights to create this effect. In 2020, Bulgari Bangkok opened, featuring the cornice pattern created in brass and combined with different types of glass to create a striking jewel-like effect. Each window has subtle lighting that highlights the store's products in Bulgari's signature saffron colour.

In conclusion, the new Bulgari flagship store in Shanghai is an excellent example of sustainable design in a luxury context. The façade is innovative and visually striking, featuring recycled materials that are given new life as a jewel for the city. The design is a blend of Eastern and Western cultures, reflecting both Bulgari's heritage and Shanghai's unique Art Deco architecture. MVRDV and Bulgari's ongoing collaboration has yielded some fascinating material experiments, and the Shanghai store is a testament to the value of these experiments.

MVRDV - Architects