nice rice Xinle Road Concept Store By say architects

Located in Shanghai, the nice rice Xinle Road Concept Store is a reimagined flagship that celebrates the origins of the brand while embracing its evolution across dozens of cities nationwide. Designed by say architects, the store transforms the retail experience into a warm, inviting “rice house,” merging the comfort of home with the vibrancy of contemporary fashion retail.

The store occupies 230 m² and unfolds as a spatial extension of domestic warmth. The glass façade is framed by a weathered white louvred door, evoking a quiet, nostalgic sense of time. Wooden benches along the entryway invite visitors to pause, while a vestibule creates a gentle transition between outdoors and indoors, subtly echoing the ritual of coming home for a meal.

Inside, the central hall becomes the heart of the concept store. Its arched ceiling draws the eye inward, while open, light-filled perimeters connect seamlessly to surrounding areas. The interior layout follows a cross-shaped functional plan, where curated garment displays, seating, and product zones flow naturally into one another. Each element of the store has been thoughtfully designed to evoke domestic familiarity, recording the traces of memory from both the Xinle Road location and the brand’s other stores.

Sustainability and storytelling play a central role. Sculptural elements from previous store locations, including a transformed overpass from Chongqing Beicheng and rice grain-inspired table legs, are integrated into the interior as lighting fixtures and furniture, preserving the brand’s journey through multiple cities. Granite sourced from Beijing LIVAT, along with timber columns and rustic eaves, reinforces a material dialogue between heritage and contemporary retail design.

The design emphasizes comfort, inclusivity, and natural rhythms, drawing inspiration from domestic interiors to create a welcoming environment where customers can linger, browse, and connect with the brand. Even the window display anticipates future collections, including the golf-inspired leisurewear line Stinger, subtly guiding visitors toward upcoming experiences.

As night falls over Shanghai, the Xinle Road rice house closes its doors yet radiates a gentle glow, symbolizing warmth, homecoming, and continuity. Through meticulous architectural detailing, say architects have created a concept store that is simultaneously a retail destination, cultural narrative, and homage to home, reflecting the essence of nice rice’s journey from a single grain to a national brand.

All the photographs are works of HereSpace