Expanding on the popular NIO House concept – a series of member’s lounges where NIO owners can relax, connect and work–Kokaistudios’ design for NIO Hongqiao Airport brings the client’s signature hospitality product to an airport for the first time, fusing elements of sustainable retail, luxury hospitality and brand experience for a space that promises guests much more than a typical pre-flight lounge.

Set in a high-exposure area close to boarding gates, the project comprises two portions; a freestanding rectangular lounge zone and an adjacent retail space that houses the debut location for NIO’s sustainable fashion label Blue Sky Lab.

Kokaistudios’ design for the lounge is composed as a procession of different functionalities, beginning with a reception and open talking lounge with a self-service bar at its centre, before moving into a quiet lounge and a semi-enclosed private chamber to the rear.

Intended as both a showcase of NIO’s popular fashion brand and its innovative approach to garment construction, Kokaistudios’ design for the retail concept’s debut venue incorporates clothing and accessory display cases alongside pedestals that highlight the catalogue of recycled car by-products used to create the collections on sale. Blue Sky Lab also features reflective mirrored glass overhead to counter the structure’s lowered ceiling, adding both a sense of space and modernist wonder.