terracotta becomes parametric
In BeijingSanlitun district, Hermès’ new flagship appears behind a rose-pink and terracotta screen, its glass volume is softened by a porous ceramic layer that captures daylight from the street. The five-story building was designed by RDAI, with Mom-Mani collaborating on facadebringing computational design and ceramic craftsmanship into a single architectural skin.
The project’s strongest gesture is abroad. Opposite the building, ceramic the tiles form a translucent veil that gives depth to the facade while allowing light to pass through. The surface reads differently depending on the distance: a warm, continuous volume from afar, then a patterned grid of repeating parts as the viewer approaches.
images courtesy of RDAI
Mamou-Mani crafts a hermes facade
The facade is made of modular ceramic components arranged in a rhythmic system. THE group in Mamou-Mani developed the mattress with removable panels, giving the surface a practical logic beyond its decorative role. The curved elements were produced through 3D printed positives used to make molds, bringing digital fabrication into a material language more often associated with craft.
The parametric design gives the facade its changing pattern. The ceramic field opens up through a series of arches, with tiles pushed, pulled and spaced to create moments of transparency throughout the building. Diamond and rhombic ceramic nibs add texture to the edges so the surface never sits flat on the glass. It has thickness, shadow and a slight irregularity that prevents the building from feeling isolated from the street.
RDAI designed the building, with architects Mamou-Mani collaborating on the facade
prohibited city references through material and format
THE architects at RDAI draw on Beijing’s architectural memory without turning the facade into a direct historical reference. Curved, glazed rooflines evoke the nearby Forbidden City through color, profile and finish material, while the building remains contemporary in its assembly. Shades of rose-pink and terracotta gently carry this reference, catching the ceramic roofs and sunny brickwork rather than duplicating their form.
The edge of the roof becomes part of the same architectural language. Its curved surface gives the flagship a more fluid silhouette, facilitating the transition between the volume of the glass and the ceramic veil below. The result is architectural rather than decorative, with the facade, roofline and filtered interior light working as a system.
the ceramic skin gives depth to the volume of glass behind it
a touchpad for digital craft
What makes the work worth looking at is the way it uses digital tools to produce something tangible. The facade depends on parametric modeling and 3D printing, but its final expression comes through ceramic weight, glaze, shadow and repetition. It avoids the coldness that often comes with computational facades because the material has its own depth and slight softness.
For Mamou-Mani, the project extends a construction-based practice into a highly controlled architectural context. For Hermès, it turns a flagship building into a building with a stronger public face. At Sanlitun, the ceramic wrap becomes the main idea: a layered layer that filters the glass behind it, connects to Beijing’s built memory and gives the store a warmer architectural presence.
Removable ceramic panels allow the facade system to be maintained over time
The curved elements were developed through 3D-printed positives used to make molds
