Spanish designer Jaime Hayon recently complete a Fritz Hansen store in Xi'an, which occupies a towering building in the city, which is one of the oldest in China, while Xi'an Fritz Hansen is also the brand's largest store in the world.

Founded in Denmark in 1872, Fritz Hansen produces classic items by pioneering twentieth-century Danish designers including Arne Jacobsen and Poul Kjrholm, as well as contemporary figures including Cecilie Manz, Benjamin Hubert and Nendo. The brand's move to China comes in response to a growing demand in the country for more understated luxury products for the home.

Customers enter the store through a tall set of doors with "lung-shaped" windows that look through to a white-painted central lobby. The grey terrazzo floor here is inlaid with a snaking line of brass that, when viewed from above, appears as an abstract face.

This area, which is anchored by a sweeping staircase and glossy green reception desk, leads to 14 smaller rooms that display the Fritz Hansen collection in more intimate settings. Arched doorways appear throughout the store, creating a "temple"-like aesthetic.

Keen to avoid the typical layout of retail stores where products are stacked or arranged in monotonous rows, Hayon instead took a "scenographic" approach to arranging the rooms. Sofas, armchairs, rugs, and coffee tables have been placed in living room-style setups, with leafy potted plants dotted throughout. Surrounding walls that feature grooved panelling have been painted warm colours like sage green, rose pink, plum purple, and slate blue.

Upstairs on the second floor, surfaces are much more neutral tones like sand-beige and dark grey, complementing the light timber floorboards that run throughout. Rounded nooks in the walls display smaller ornaments like candle holders and vases.