The new FREITAG Store Shanghai aims to provide a platform going beyond a traditional understanding of retail.

A property from the 1980s surfaced in an area remote from the well-known tourist and shopping attractions. It had first been used as a textile factory before being turned into a hostel. Close cooperation with Shanghai-based Kooo Architects, local engineers and small businesses, generated the vision of a mutually tolerant, hybrid concept occupying the space between neighborhood and retail.

The roof adopts the same holistic concept as the store. It is designed to promote biodiversity in the neighborhood and connect the store to the publicly accessible rooftop terrace. The garden is tended organically and contains local plants in season. As such, it is open to the neighboring community for meetings, joint activities and collective development.

From the start, the minimization of CO2 emissions was a key requirement. The entire building process was geared to this end, and the footprint of the conversion analyzed in detail.

Consequently, the building was gutted, a procedure that preserves so-called gray energy and ensures that the carefully renovated building fabric will last for at least another 30 years. Reducing transport routes to a minimum, fine-finishing as few surfaces as possible, increasing the building’s energy efficiency and reusing as many materials as possible were further requirements for the project.

The old walls were demolished with the utmost care to facilitate the reuse of as many intact bricks as possible in the repair of existing walls or construction of new ones. Rubble from the demolition of ceilings and walls was collected to make so-called «rebirth bricks» on site that could be used for the new floors.

The hoarding panels that had enveloped the entire building during reconstruction work and protected the neighborhood from dust were cut and repurposed on site. As a permanent part of the facade, these elements now form the outermost layer of the building. It provides space for additional insulation between the facade and the building, thus increasing the structure’s energy efficiency. The windows in the new front were deliberately enlarged, generating a dialog between «old» and «new» and providing an insight into the history of the structural development.

The store’s first floor houses a large repair shop that communicates the company’s commitment to longevity. Here, bags from all over China are repaired, ensuring that the company’s products have an even longer service life, all in the spirit of the circular economy.

Next to this, thanks to a concept developed exclusively for Shanghai, customers can get a first-hand experience of the digital F-Cut customization tool. Customers can use a remote control to place a pattern for a bag model on a tarp projection and design their own bag from used truck tarps. This way, FREITAG makes the design of the unique piece and the factory’s production processes tangible.