Factory Five Bike Shop Serves Bikes and Beer in Shanghai

It might be one of the funkiest bike shops we’ve ever seen. The new Factory Five Bike Shop in Shanghai is more an “experience” than a store, and that’s precisely what it’s designers had in mind. This project by Linehouse Architecture features space for bike retail and service, but it’s designed to welcome its guests to congregate, chat and stay for a beer. Sure, you can outfit a sweet new bike here, or you can get your current bike serviced. But this is the kind of space that draws you in to experience the brand whether you had planned to shop or not — and that’s part of the goal of flagship retail design.

And who doesn’t want to order a beer while their bike is getting serviced? That’s just the icing on the cake.

Factory 5 selected an old, double-height industrial warehouse to serve as its next home. It provided enough space to feature a second story mezzanine for a private office that overlooked the store below. It offers a bit of everything — the private office, a service area, bike retail racks, aisles of components, a clothing section, a communal table and a bar. In short, it’s got everything but a velodrome.

Linehouse Architecture designed this space to speak to the identity of the urban cyclist. There are bike parts placed throughout the store’s design. The chandeliers are made of reclaimed wheel sections. A bike frame is encased in concrete below the service area table. Functionally, the other 45 components of a Factory Five fixed gear bike are available in their own distinct space, a mise en place of cycling cookery.

It’s the mood of the space that has us wanting to visit. Linehouse emphasized its industrial origins by using exposed brick, reclaimed wood tables, polished concrete surfaces and black steel i-beams. The bike-part pendant lamps and hanging tungsten shop lights add character along with the bright ambient window light. It’s a gritty-yet-polished space that just feels right to a city cyclist.

And who doesn’t want to order a beer while their bike is getting serviced? That’s just the icing on the cake. [photography by benoit florencon, hat tip designboom]

View in gallery