V6 Lifestyle Art Emporium by designer Xiang Li has been named a Gold winner at the A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category, an accolade that highlights a shift in showroom design toward emotional immersion and brand storytelling.
What the award recognises
The A' Design Award, judged through a blind peer review by an international expert jury, acknowledged the project for its thoughtful spatial strategy and technical execution. Presented in Como, Italy, the recognition places the V6 showroom among international design achievements that influence how commercial interiors are conceived and experienced.
Design approach and visitor experience
Rather than arranging furniture in a conventional retail grid, the V6 project uses a garden-touring narrative inspired by the pathing and sequence of a classical Chinese garden. The design creates a series of modular scenes and architectural segments that guide visitors through curated moments, emphasising rhythm, colour and spatial ritual.
- Modular scene building: flexible vignettes that can adapt to changing product lines or campaigns.
- Architectural segmentation: subtle partitions and pathways that shape circulation without resorting to closed rooms.
- Flexible display strategies: arrangements that balance merchandising needs with immersive storytelling.
These devices combine to form what the jury described as a coherent and memorable journey — a showroom that functions as both exhibition and experiential landscape.
Why this matters to brands and shoppers
Designers and retailers increasingly prioritise experiential value as a differentiator. The V6 concept demonstrates practical benefits for brands looking to stand out in crowded markets: a thoughtfully composed space can enhance emotional engagement, create sensory memories and extend brand narratives beyond product attributes.
For shoppers, the approach offers a more considered visit. Instead of encountering furniture solely as isolated items, visitors move through linked scenes that suggest how pieces live within imagined environments. That storytelling quality can influence perception, encourage longer dwell times and support higher-value purchases — outcomes that matter to retail operators and designers alike.
| Project | Designer | Award | Category | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| V6 Lifestyle Art Emporium | Xiang Li | Gold | Interior Space and Exhibition Design | Como, Italy |
Broader design implications
The jury's recognition framed the project as more than a single successful showroom: it signals directions for the interior design sector. As inhabited spaces increasingly carry complex narratives of daily life, designers are asked to blend functional requirements with cultural and emotional resonance. The V6 project shows how a retail environment can also operate as an artistic and cultural statement while maintaining commercial utility.
For Canadian retailers and designers, the V6 example offers a template for experimentation: integrating landscape-inspired circulation, layered lighting and adaptable displays can yield environments that feel personal and curated rather than purely transactional.
As customers continue to expect memorable experiences from physical stores — experiences that complement online convenience — projects like V6 may become reference points for how brands rethink the role of space in their wider communications and commerce strategies.
