This was our first digitally fabricated project. The Aesop Store was completed in the IFC Mall Central Hong Kong. It was designed by Aesop in collaboration with NADAA Architects using parametric design and advanced construction techniques. It was manufactured by Ricci Wong & EDMC* in 2013. This project proved to be a great challenge to construct out of just solid oak. It gave the team great experience in how to design and manufacture in a way which traditional carpenters would not be able to translate from drawings - nothing was straight forward in the drawings. 

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The biggest challenge occurred regarding the bending bench with its narrow but wide seating. It was not until the mock-up of the curved seat was fabricated that the client and architect were convinced that we could fabricate this design in our studio. It was quite a painful experience to fabricate the mock-up in multiple pieces while stacking it up at the end grain. The short installation time (one night only) made it a great challenge as the bench was six meters long. In the end the result of the 3-D slanting surface was a pleasure to see. 

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Offsite construction time: 2 months

Onsite installation: 1 night

Site: IFC MALL , IFC, Central, Hong Kong

Year: Feb 2013

Designer: AESOP / NADAA

Fabricator: Ricci Wong / EDMC

Team: Ricci Wong, Geoff Chan, Keung&Team

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*Disclaimer: This project was not made by Laab. It was done solely by Ricci Wong before Laab was established in Sep 2013. Ricci Wong lent this project as a reference.