design Shanghai  “SHANG XIA”

Exhibition Dates｜March 19-22, 2026， Location｜Shanghai Exhibition Center

Bridging Heritage and the Contemporary — Reconstructing Modern Life through Eastern Wisdom

At this year’s Design Shanghai, Vermilion Zhou Design Group designed the SHANG XIA booth around the concept of “Bridging Heritage and the Contemporary,” distilling spatial order from Eastern wisdom to respond to the continuity and growth of tradition within contemporary life.

Under the theme “Beyond Sustainability: Designing with Nature,” this year’s Design Shanghai brings the philosophy of the unity between humanity and nature back into a contemporary context. In our view, this proposition should not remain a stylistic response, but return to structure itself.

For SHANG XIA, the essence lies not in a single craft or object, but in how tradition and the contemporary, craftsmanship and design, may sustain a relationship of continuous growth. “Heritage” refers to the accumulated value of intangible cultural heritage and handcraft over time, while “the contemporary” refers to the ability of design language and modern lifestyles to reinterpret and carry this legacy forward. What matters is not juxtaposition, but order.

For this reason, the booth does not describe the East through scenographic settings, but expresses it through spatial logic. Traditional crafts such as eggshell lacquer, bamboo marquetry, and lacquerwork are placed at the core, while contemporary furniture and objects unfold around them. Through repetition, arrangement, and elevation, the space establishes a viewing order that is clear, restrained, and focused. The independent display pavilion is conceived as a spiritual installation, creating a focal point through purity within the exhibition environment.

Through this project, we hope to respond to an Eastern way of thinking: to respect the rhythms of nature, the accumulation of time, and to allow tradition to continue growing in contemporary life.