Moutai Flagship Store, Milan

Moutai

Milan, Italy , 2025 , Interior Architecture , Flagship Store

Introduction

Pavilions within the hall.

The main Moutai flagship store occupies Spazio Messina at Fabbrica del Vapore, a former Milanese factory defined by its brick construction, large windows and tall ceilings. The project introduces the landscape and architectural references of Guizhou into this existing industrial setting.

The interior is organized through a series of pavilion structures inspired by traditional Chinese construction. Their timber grids, mortise-and-tenon connections and individual structural details were developed specifically for the project, creating a sequence of distinct spaces within the existing industrial hall.

01, Moutai and Baijiu

More than three years of waiting.

Moutai is a Chinese baijiu shaped by a long process of production and ageing. From sorghum and fermentation to distillation and blending, the spirit passes through eleven stages before entering an ageing period of more than three years.

Type: White spirit
Strength: 40–60%
Ageing: More than 3 years

01Sourcing sorghum
02Boiling in water
03Adding grains
04Removing and cooling
05Distributing
06Putting grades into bacteria
07Transferring to fermentation
08Saccharification and fermentation
09Putting to distillation tank
10Distillation
11Cutting the spirit

Eleven stages, from the gathering of the grain to the cutting of the spirit.

Guizhou

River, stone and timber.

The project draws from the landscape and building traditions of Guizhou: the Chishui River, terraced fields and dense greenery, together with slate stone, timber pavilions and traditional wood joints. These references become the material and architectural foundation of the interior.

Terraced fields cut in bands across a Guizhou hillside.

Water running fast over pale river stones.

A regional slate stone house with a red-papered doorway.

Stacked pavilion roofs with deep timber eaves.

02, Three Scales

One system, three scales.

The project unfolds across three locations in Milan, translating the same architectural language to three different scales. At Spazio Messina, it forms a series of free-standing pavilions; in Brera, it adapts to a smaller retail interior; at Rinascente, it is reduced to a compact display. The scale changes, while the identity of the project remains consistent.

01Flagship Store: Spazio Messina · Fabbrica del Vapore
02Boutique Store: Spazio RT · Brera
03Shop-in-Shop: Rinascente

Concept

Abstraction, not imitation.

Traditional Chinese references are translated into a contemporary architectural language through structure, material and atmosphere. Pavilion forms, timber joinery, greenery and stone draw from Guizhou without reproducing its architecture literally.

Traditional Chinese elements

Pavilion, screen and grid — taken as ways of making space, not as forms to reproduce.

Contemporary architecture

The traditional references are reworked as a new structural and spatial language within the existing industrial hall.

Guizhou greenery and stone

Bamboo, planted elements and slate stone bring the material character of Guizhou into the interior.

Light, shadow and sound

Low sun through a gridded screen, throwing a long shadow across the panel.

A quiet interior behind a bamboo scrim, figures seated at a low table.

A paper lantern over a low table in a timber and paper room.

Day, Soft and cozy light, shadow play filtered through the grids, relaxing sound.

Night, A poetic ambiance, deepening contrast and more energetic music.

03, The stores

Flagship Store

Spazio Messina · Fabbrica del Vapore

Milan

Fabbrica del Vapore

Inside a former factory.

Fabbrica del Vapore is a former factory defined by its Milanese brick construction, now used as an arts centre. Within it, Spazio Messina offers a large exhibition volume with tall ceilings, large industrial windows and an open floor. The existing hall remains legible, while the new pavilion structures are introduced within it.

Fabbrica del Vapore: Arts centre · former factory
Construction: Milanese brick construction
Spazio Messina: Exhibition space · tall ceilings · large windows

The brick facade of Fabbrica del Vapore, its tall arched industrial windows in a long repeating bay. — Exterior, The existing façade of Spazio Messina.

Spazio Messina as found: a tall column-grid hall with a concrete floor and daylight from high windows. — Interior, The existing exhibition hall of Spazio Messina.

Pavilion System

Grid, joint, paper.

The pavilion system is developed as a timber grid assembled through mortise-and-tenon joints. Wall, ceiling and roof elements follow the same construction language, while translucent rice-paper surfaces complete the enclosure and allow light to filter through.

Axonometric of the assembled pavilion: the complete timber grid, roof and walls together. — MOUTAI, Axonometric

Exploded axonometric of the pavilion: roof grid above, ceiling grid below it, four wall grids thrown out to the sides, and the structural core on the centre line. — MOUTAI, Exploded axonometric

Mortise and tenon components drawn separately and assembled, with member dimensions in millimetres. — MOUTAI, Joinery details

Technical Drawings

MOUTAIFloor plan1/50 · 400 m²

The Spaces

Spaces within the hall.

The entrance: reception counters between timber columns, daylight patterning the floor. — entrance, The hall opens along a clear central axis.

The entrance hall at low light, lit display plinths standing in a dark run. — entrance display, Custom display units present the special collection along the central axis.

Stone columns carrying single bottles, bamboo massed behind them. — special collection, The special collection is displayed among stone elements and bamboo, drawing on the material references of Guizhou.

The bar hall: long tables between columns, the tall arched windows of the factory beyond. — bar, tasting, Long tables organize the tasting area beneath the hanging banners.

The bar counter with a painted screen behind it. — bar, The bar counter continues the project's reinterpretation of traditional Chinese forms in a contemporary language.

A folding screen and shelving defining the edge of the tasting area. — bar, tasting, A traditional Chinese screen connects the bar to the project's cultural references.

A pavilion seating bay: low benches against a rice-paper wall carrying the shadow of the grid. — lounge, The bar extends into a quieter seating area, where the grid's shadow falls across the paper wall.

The workshop: a long working table under a lit ceiling grid, lattice walls and planting behind. — workshop, A hands-on cocktail workshop built around Moutai.

The VIP lounge: natural slate seats set around planting, lattice walls filtering the light. — VIP, lounge, Natural slate seating carries the stone reference of Guizhou into the lounge.

The Fabbrica del Vapore frontage by day: the brick bays and their arched industrial windows along the street. — exterior, The façade in natural daylight.

The factory frontage at night, each bay lit from within. — exterior, The façade under architectural lighting.

Boutique Store

Spazio RT · Brera

Milan

Spazio RT

A more intimate scale.

In Brera, the Moutai identity is adapted to a more compact retail setting at Spazio RT. Collection display, bar and lounge come together within a smaller footprint, while timber, bamboo and stone continue the material language of the flagship. Here, the experience also expands through the Moutai ice cream bar.

Location: Spazio RT · Brera, Milan
Existing condition: A single retail volume
Intervention: Timber grid as a lining

The Brera storefront on its Milanese street at night, display windows either side of the door. — Exterior, The existing Brera storefront, on its street.

The existing Brera interior before the fit-out: white walls and columns over a terracotta floor, with freestanding gallery shelving and display pieces still in place. — Interior, The existing Brera interior, before the intervention.

Technical Drawings

MOUTAIFloor plan1/50 · 100 m²

The Spaces

The Brera bar: a stone counter under a warm lit recess, shelving behind. — entry counter, A stone counter marks the first point of arrival.

Brera seating: low benches and tables against the window display. — lounge, A place to pause between display and tasting.

The Brera lounge looking out to the street, bamboo massed either side of the opening. — lounge, Bamboo brings the landscape reference of Guizhou into the seating area.

The Brera interior: gridded timber walls, bamboo and a stone display run along one side. — collection display, Stone plinths and bamboo carry the Guizhou material language into the Brera store.

Brera collection display: stone plinths standing in a shallow water basin under the lit ceiling grid. — special collection, Stone plinths, timber displays and bamboo frame the collection around a central water feature.

The Brera shopfront by day: four display windows set into a pale frontage, bottles and planting behind the glass. — exterior, The storefront in natural daylight.

The same Brera frontage at night, each display window lit from within. — exterior, The storefront under architectural lighting.

Shop-in-Shop

Rinascente

Milan

Rinascente

The collection, condensed.

At Rinascente, Moutai is condensed into a compact shop-in-shop dedicated to the display and sale of special collections. A stepped display plinth and timber ceiling grid carry the project's architectural language into its most compact form.

Location: Rinascente, Milan
Store type: Pop-up · corner installation
Strategy: Display plinth and ceiling grid

The Rinascente arcade at night, its lit shopfronts running the length of the colonnade. — Exterior, Rinascente, the store the corner sits inside.

The Rinascente atrium seen from within: the travertine structural grid rising past several retail floors beside an escalator run. — Interior, Rinascente, the store's multi-storey atrium.

Technical Drawings

MOUTAIFloor plan1/50 · 12 m²

The Spaces

The pop-up from the other side, the plinth stepping down toward the aisle. — shop-in-shop, Stepped stone plinths organize the display and sale of Moutai's special collections.

Close on the display: bottles standing on stone blocks of varying height. — special collection, Special editions are presented individually across stone blocks at varying heights.

The exhibition hall once more, the colonnade running away into warm light.

Across Milan, Moutai's identity is carried through a series of distinct spatial experiences.