Japanese outdoor brand Snow Peak has opened a new experiential showroom in Suzhou, designed by KiKi ARCHi under architect Yoshihiko Seki. More than a store, the project demonstrates how architecture can translate the essence of the outdoors into an urban environment—an approach increasingly relevant to Malaysia’s own retail and design scene.
For Malaysia—where malls dominate urban life and outdoor culture is gaining new momentum—Snow Peak’s approach offers a compelling reference. With its unique design language, Snow Peak offers inspiration on how our urban cities might become platforms for cultural immersion using materiality, and spatial design to create more than a point of sale.
Set within a luxury mall, the space introduces the concept of “elevation shift”—a sloping concrete floor that forms a man-made hill, guiding visitors through an organic, discovery-led journey. Complementing this, vertical timber columns serve as both display platforms and sculptural interventions, evoking forest trees and campfire logs. Together, these elements transform the act of shopping into a sensory experience of terrain, texture, and rhythm.
The interior is divided into “aboveground” and “underground” zones, creating layered narratives: open, communal spaces for browsing and leisure above, and a gravel-inspired, introspective environment below. Viewed from outside, the showroom resembles a geological cross-section, a bold reminder of how design can articulate time, nature, and human intervention in one continuous gesture.
Article by: Lily Wong
