David Chang's Majestic Masterpiece: The Toujours Belle

An Empire Style-Inspired Design with a Modern Twist

David Chang's inspiration for the Toujours Belle stemmed from the official art style of Napoleon's reign, the Empire style. This style, associated with the glory of the Roman Empire, symbolizes the majestic and expansive dominion of the empire. The rhythm in the space of the Toujours Belle composes a heroic song of triumph, strong yet lyric, noble and proud, telling thrilling stories with brilliance.

The Toujours Belle is not just an architectural marvel but a comprehensive community model. It includes areas for experiencing international business streets, creative culture, and international residence with an elite social system, theme park, and a full-range of educational system, healthcare system, and property management system. The detailing prevalent in the grandeur: rare stones create a holy and crystal feeling, while the leather, mirror, and precious metal represent the spirit of a new era. The tonality set by white, gray, beige, and other light colors exudes not only aristocratic calmness and gracefulness, but also the flourishing prosperity in the city.

The design process involved two proposals for the client: one classical French, the other modern French. They were differentiated by colors and lines: the former is more grey-blue tone based and composed of spaces divided by curved lines, the other more green with linear divisions. In the end, based on the market and customer preferences, the client decided to adopt classical French style with some modern French elements, which rendered into what we see now.

The biggest highlight of the whole building is the site model area, for which Chang's proposal of the glass vault was accepted to replace the original flat glass roof, resonating well with the whole design style. The high ceiling above the reception area and the corridor on the second floor maintain smooth continuation and the dialogue among spaces.

Located in Zhengzhou, the largest city of central China, Toujours Belle Sales Centre is intended to be the core of a new sophisticated residential complex. This projects covers approximately 2.9 million square meters that includes areas for retail and shops, creative culture venues, a theme park, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities. The illustrious centre was inspired by the Empire style with its palatial spaces, domed ceilings, and stately marble colonnades. Neoclassic motifs materialize in the details of the grand ceiling glass dome, window designs, railings, and screens.

This Design was awarded Silver in A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2018. Silver A' Design Award: Rewarded to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. These designs, admired for their strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.