Snow Peak MATRO Department Store, Suzhou, China, Chinese commercial building, China architecture images
Snow Peak MATRO Department Store in Jiangsu
28 August 2025
Architecture: KiKi ARCHi
Location: Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Photos: Ruijing Photo Beijing
Snow Peak MATRO Department Store, China
Legendary outdoor lifestyle brand Snow Peak has recently unveiled a new multifunctional retail showroom in the heart of Suzhou’s historic city center. Designed by KiKi ARCHi, led by architect Yoshihiko Seki, the project takes inspiration from the brand’s core philosophy.
In addition to showcasing a wide range of products, including camping gear, outdoor apparel, and hiking tools, the showroom also integrates a café corner to create a hybrid environment, which articulates through a minimalist and abstract narrative that evokes the natural topography of hills and forests.
Positioned on the ground floor of a luxury commercial complex, with the mall’s central walkway and elevator hall. These contextual parameters presented a multifaceted design challenge, like how to maintain the integrity of the showroom, organize a smooth shopping route, and accurately reflect the brand identity, etc. Drawing from these site-specific conditions, KiKi ARCHi introduced the concept of “elevation shift”—an interpretation of the ever-changing landscape. By sculpting a man-made “hill” in concrete, the design concept injects vitality and a sense of discovery into the showroom, inviting users to reconnect with the earth and rediscover the world beneath their feet.
This undulating terrain defines an open and free space. The display strategy revolves around the theme of “wood”, inspired by the forest and campfire timber. Varying-height timbers are arrayed throughout the space as display platforms, seating, and structural supports. These timbers pierce the sloping ground vertically, becoming connections between people, products, space, and nature, and fostering subtle forms of interaction and communication.
Upon completion of the primary construction, the “slope” and “wood” intersect to create both “aboveground” and “underground” spaces. Vertically, they form a dual spatial narrative: the “aboveground” is an open zone for shopping and leisure, while the “underground” becomes a gravel landscape. Though distinct in form, these two zones made the showroom’s façade resemble a geological cross-section, using a unique visual language that encapsulates the intersection of time and space, the contrast of textures and tones, and the balance between human intervention and natural form.
For daily operation, the showroom offers a flexible display strategy. The non-fixed, scattered display system allows staff to easily update product arrangements, continuously refreshing the shopping experience. Products can be presented on the timbers of the slope area, columns, and side walls, while the seating area is thoughtfully arranged on the flat floor, evoking the scene of “climbing for the view, resting at the base.”
Immersed in the ambiance of camping and the aroma of coffee, visitors are invited to experience the brand’s ultimate outdoor aesthetic. In that moment, the showroom captures the poetic spirit of “urban hiking” and reestablishes a harmonious, egalitarian coexistence among all elements of the world.
Snow Peak MATRO Department Store in Jiangsu province, China – Building Information
Design Firm: KiKi ARCHi – https://www.kikiarchi.com/
Project Name: Snow Peak MATRO Department Store, Suzhou
Project Location: Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Element: Showroom, retail
Director: Yoshihiko Seki
Design Team: Saika Akiyoshi, Takahito Yagyuda, Tianping Wang
Construction: Suzhou HaiYiDa Construction & Decoration Co., Ltd.
Building Area: 628 sqm
Completion: 2025.05
Photography: Ruijing Photo Beijing
Materials & Brands:
glass- Shanghai Kayuen DE Glassware Co., Ltd.
stainless steel- Shanghai Hanxing Metal Products Co., Ltd.
floor- Beijing DaGu Architecture Technology Development Co., Ltd.
furniture- Snow Peak
Photography: Ruijing Photo Beijing
Snow Peak MATRO Department Store, Suzhou, China images / information received 280825
Location: Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.
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