MEEM HOUSE为创始于1930年代，拥有近百年历史的“中华老字号”红星眼镜设计的实体零售店，于2023年盛夏在上海市华山路正式对外开放。红星眼镜华山路概念店是两代主理人对百年品牌一次满怀勇气的文化复兴，也是老牌国产眼镜在面对后疫情、新消费时代的一次想象力十足的行业创新。
A new brick-and-mortar optical store designed by MEEM HOUSE on Huashan Road in downtown Shanghai was officially opened to the public in the summer of 2023. RedStar Optical is one of the Chinese time-honored brands with nearly a hundred years of history. Its new concept store is a bold cultural revival undertaken by the founders of this century-old brand, and it is also an imaginative innovation of the traditional Chinese brands as they face the challenges of the post-pandemic and new consumer era.
▲视频 Video © 朱润资
中国品牌的摩登
The Modernity of Chinese Brand
彼时彼地，此时此地。
Then and there, here and now.
1904年，英国人John Goddard在上海开设高德洋行，将验光配镜技术带到中国。之后的几十年间，一批富有冒险精神的中方雇员打破洋人垄断，创立了首批中国眼镜品牌，其中就包括红星眼镜的前身。新中国成立后的红星眼镜蜚声沪上，80年代延续至今的“眼镜小修小配”，博士伦隐形眼镜的首次入沪，90年代的自动眼镜割片技术，这些超前的服务和技术都是红星眼镜在专业领域的品牌故事，也是这个百年品牌引以为傲的品牌基因。
In 1904, British merchant John Goddard established Goddard & Co. in Shanghai, introducing the techniques of spectacle optometry to China. Over the following decades, a group of Chinese employees broke the forging monopoly and founded the first batch of Chinese eyewear brands, including the predecessor of RedStar Optical. Since PRC was founded, RedStar Optical gained tremendous fame in Shanghai, with its “eyeglass repair and fitting” services since the 1980s continued up to now. The first arrival of Bausch & Lomb’s contact lenses in Shanghai, and the introduction of automated eyeglass lens-cutting technology in the 1990s, showcased the pioneering role of RedStar Optical in the eyewear industry. These innovative services and technologies form part of the brand’s rich history and are integral to its proud heritage.
红星眼镜作为老一辈上海人的集体记忆，她曾经是上海滩眼镜行业最摩登的存在。首批隐形眼镜，首批外资合股，首批连锁经营品牌，最摩登的技术工艺和经营理念。“配眼镜，要放心，到红星”，朝气蓬勃的广告语家喻户晓，富有那个时代最摩登的气质。与诸多安于现状或积重难返的老字号不同，红星眼镜的两代主理人在守旧还是创新的抉择上，选择了主动求变。在与两代主理人及其团队的深入沟通中，作为设计方的MEEM HOUSE逐渐理解了老字号的困境：历史是负担还是财富？如何在新零售潮流下日新月异的猎奇设计中保持品牌的优雅和从容，我们力图在街区文脉，场地精神和品牌故事中寻找空间设计的线索和脉络，以复兴重现摩登。
As a collective memory of old Shanghai locals, RedStar Optical was once the epitome of modernity in the eyewear industry. It was one of the first brands to introduce contact lenses, establish a foreign joint venture, and become a chain retail brand. It was known for its cutting-edge technology and business philosophy. The slogan, “Get Eyeglasses, Trust RedStar,” was well-known, reflecting the brand’s dynamic spirit and modernity of that era. Unlike many other traditional brands that are content with the status quo or burdened by tradition, the founders of RedStar Optical chose to proactively embrace change. In deep communication with the brand’s proprietors and their team, MEEM HOUSE, as the design partner, gradually understood the challenges faced by the century-old brand: Is history a burden or a treasure? How can an aged brand maintain its elegance and composure in the ever-evolving landscape of the New Retail revolution? The clues of the design creativity and innovation have existed among the urban context, the spirit of the site, and the brand’s history, eventually aiming to revive modernity.
▲改造后 After Renovation © 朱润资
▲改造前 Before Renovation © MEEM HOSUE
梧桐街区的复兴
The Revival of Wutong Community
有梧桐树的地方，才是上海。
Where there are wutong trees, there is Shanghai.
漫长的华山路跨越了静安、长宁、徐汇三区，上海本地人有时也会恍惚，华山路到底是东西向还是南北向。这是一个满载上海城市记忆的街区：华山路是一部拼贴的城市建筑史，有梧桐，红砖，弄堂和篱笆；华山路拥有独特的味蕾和美食，红宝石蛋糕，静安面包房，大隐于市的各种咖啡馆；华山路记录传奇与日常，名人故居，百年老店，新老邻居，人来人往。
Huashan Road stretches across Jing’an, Changning, and Xuhui Districts in Shanghai. Even locals occasionally find themselves puzzled, wondering whether Huashan Road runs east to west or north to south. It is a legendary street filled with Shanghai’s urban memories. Huashan Road is a collage of urban architectural history, wutong trees, red bricks, lanes, and alleys with fences. Huashan Road offers unique tastes and foods, from the iconic Red Ruby Cake and Jing’an Bakery to countless hidden coffee shops. Huashan Road documents legends and everyday life, with celebrity residences, century-old shops, and old and new neighbors from all over the world.
红星眼镜在华山路的第十年，除了作为一家眼镜零售店，还能在这个街区留下什么样的城市记忆？
In its tenth year on Huashan Road, what kind of urban memories could RedStar Optical leave behind beyond being an optical retailer?
场地位于华山路355号，处于全长4320米的华山路的最东边。场地对面即是80年代末全国最早挂牌的希尔顿酒店，斜对面即是上海滩唯一的“胡同”大胜胡同，步行5分钟便可以来到群星闪耀的上海戏剧学院。在缺乏城市规范条例的约束下，现状沿街立面的出挑门头与临街商业店铺的门头齐平，硕大的门头之上是破损的原始红砖墙面和凌乱的空调外机，而门头以下却只有3米的压抑净高。对场地特点的忽视和怠慢，让主立面在如此耀眼的街区缺少城市的场景感和品牌的记忆点。
The site is located at No. 355 Huashan Road, at the easternmost end of the 4,320-meter-long Huashan Road. Lacking urban regulatory constraints, the current facades along the street are at the same height as the adjacent commercial shops, with large facades featuring damaged original red brick walls and cluttered air conditioning units. In contrast, the space below the facades is limited to only three meters high. The disregard for the characteristics of the site has left the main facade lacking a sense of urban context and brand memory on such a prominent street.
原始场地的主空间只有5米的净深，但拥有20米的面宽，并列5个4米面宽的砖混结构开间。从建筑剖面进行考古挖掘，我们拆除了之前笨重逼仄的门头，重现了斑驳破败的红砖墙面。抬高门头的位置至原门头的上檐，我们用一个轻巧的倒圆角出挑雨蓬代替笨重的箱体门头。悬挑雨蓬之上的白色穿孔铝板，雕刻渐变的小星星肌理，满足遮蔽空调外机且透气通风的要求。为了延续原立面的红砖记忆，在对比了多种立面主材后，我们选择了手工烧制的陶土红砖切片进行竖向铺贴。红砖，不再是一种结构的砌筑，而成为街区记忆的溯源。
The original main space of the site has a net depth of only five meters but a frontage of 20 meters, comprising five 4-meter-wide reinforced concrete structural bays. Conducting an archaeological excavation of the existing building, we removed the previous bulky and cramped facades to reveal the original red brick walls. We raised the position of the façade head to the level of the original eaves, replacing the bulky boxy facades with a fillet thin canopy. Above the cantilevered canopy is a white perforated aluminum panel with a gradually changing star-like texture, meeting the requirements for shielding air conditioning units while allowing ventilation. To preserve the memory of the original facade, we selected hand-fired terracotta red bricks for vertical cladding, transforming red bricks from a structural construction into a source of urban memory.
我们保留场地的五个开洞，避免多余的土建改造，统一的模数形成橱窗和入口。橱窗的倒圆角铝合金窗套与室内眼镜展柜的圆角造型构成前后错落的层次感，悬挑的展台及镶嵌古铜字体的白洞石成为立面取景框的品牌注脚。在通透大玻璃橱窗的两端，室外是华山路斑驳的梧桐树，室内是温暖质朴的胡桃木展柜，街区的城市风景和室内的品牌场景成就恰到好处，因地制宜的新立面。
We retained the five existing openings, avoiding unnecessary structural alterations and creating uniform modules for windows and entrances. The filleted aluminum alloy window frames of the clear glass display windows matched with the interior rounded corners of the eyeglass display cabinets, creating a layered sense of front and rear. The cantilevered display platform and the white marble stone embedded with an antique bronze logo become brand footnotes for the facade framing. At both ends of the transparent glass windows, you can see the mottled wutong trees of Huashan Road outside, and the warm, rustic walnut wood display cabinets inside. The outdoor urban scenery and the indoor display scene perfectly complement each other, creating a context-appropriate new facade.
在门前三棵梧桐树的斑驳树影下，红星眼镜的店招若隐若现，融入华山路车水马龙的街景。
Beneath the dappled shadows of the three wutong trees in front, the luminous logo of RedStar Optical is subtly visible, blending into the Huashan Road.
▲区位图 Site Plan © MEEM HOUSE
▲剖透视图 Sectional Perspective © MEEM HOUSE
▲沿街立面Street View on Huashan Road © 朱润资
红星眼镜的日常/奇迹
Everyday/Miracle of RedStar Optical
我们所度过的每个平凡的日常，也许就是连续发生的奇迹。
Every ordinary day we experience might become a continuous series of miracles.
红星眼镜华山路店的空间序列由街区门厅、记忆前厅、摩登展厅、红星客厅，这四个不同主题的开放子空间组成，沿着现状剪力墙一字排开，通过三个倒角的门洞串联，在单线叙事中构建丰富的场景体验，让“选眼镜，配眼镜，修眼镜”的日常更具仪式感。
The spatial sequence of the interior consists of four individual open rooms with different themes: the Street Lobby, the Memory Hall, the Modern Gallery, and the RedStar Lounge. These four rooms are arranged in a row along the existing shear walls, connected through three doorways, creating a rich scene experience within a single narrative, enhancing the sense of ritual for the everyday activities of “selecting glasses, fitting glasses, and repairing glasses.”
街区门厅是街区城市界面的延续，立面的红砖从室外台阶延续至室内地坪，模糊室内外界限，成为隐藏在华山路街区的巷子。圆柱体展示装置位于内弧形空间的中央，成为街区门厅地标雕塑（Landmark），是品牌挑战常识的创新陈列。层叠的悬浮展台消解体积，暗藏电机的旋转展台，悬挂的标语跑马灯，背景内弧的背发光展台，这一系列新技术带来的科技感与陶土红砖的手工感，带来时空交错的碰撞。街区门厅的右侧即是记忆前厅，以一个综合功能的岛台连接了展示空间和暗藏的验光室。品牌背景墙是由网格矩阵构成的金属盲盒，多变的形式满足不同品牌的季度推广，如同旧时记忆里的信箱。 除了满足收银，取镜及茶水的基本功能以外，综合岛台更是延续了80年代推出的“眼镜小修小配”业务，是消费者和店员最频繁互动的空间。
The Street Lobby is a continuation of the urban interface of the street. The red bricks of the facade extend from the outdoor steps into the indoor floor, blurring the boundary between indoors and outdoors, creating a hidden alley within Huashan Road. A cylindrical display installation in the center of the curved space serves as a landmark in the Street Lobby, an innovative display that challenges conventions. Stacked floating display platforms reduce the volume, while the rotating display platform with hidden motors, suspended scrolling slogans, and a backlit display platform within the inner curve bring a sense of technology to complement the handcrafted terracotta red bricks, creating a collision of time and space. At the right of the Street Lobby is the Memory Hall, connecting the display room and the hidden optometry room with a multifunctional reception table. The branding wall is a grid matrix of metal boxes, providing various forms for seasonal promotions reminiscent of the mailboxes in the old days. The multifunctional reception table continues the “eyeglass repair and fitting” service introduced in the 1980s, serving as the place for the most frequent interactions between customers and staffs.
这是作家穆时英笔下象征“光热力”的都市奇观，也是红星眼镜在新零售语境下摩登复兴的宣言。
This is a metropolitan spectacle symbolizing “LIGHT, HEAT, POWER,” as described by the avant-garde writer Mu Shiying in the1930s. It is also a declaration of RedStar Optical’s modern revival in the context of New Retail.
摩登展厅作为店铺主体，是一个满足自由选购模式的体验空间。长3.6米的中央岛台位于摩登展厅的核心位置，倒圆角的造型提升了动线的环绕体验，不同高度的展台满足不同类型产品的展示，岛台配置可翻转的长条镜提高试戴的频次，悬挂的定制灯具加强了岛台的领域感。沿墙立式展柜拥有近7米的展示面，两个凸起的形体对应空间的两个橱窗，既避免了扁平单调，又增加了产品的展示数量。展柜的造型语言来源于上海摩登时代的古董家具，搭配胡桃木柜体和白洞石背板，几何简化的弧角框前后错落，成为立面橱窗最完美的景深，将精致的复古感由内向外延伸。穿过摩登展厅，就是隐藏在流线尽头的红星客厅。在这个不足25平方的尽端空间，提供高端品牌的陈列展示和VIP贵宾的接待服务。嵌入墙体的胡桃木展柜，满铺的胡桃木天花，复古拼花木地板搭配焦糖色经典复古家具，布局与质感均力求营造如家般温暖的客厅体验。
As the main part of the store, the Modern Gallery is an experiential space for free selection. A central island measuring 3.6 meters is located at the heart of the Modern Gallery. Its rounded design enhances the immersive experience of the circulation, with platforms at different heights for displaying various types of eyeglasses. The island is equipped with flip-up bar mirrors to increase the frequency of try-ons, while the suspended custom-made lights shape the territory of the island. Vertical display cabinets along the walls offer nearly seven meters of display space, with two protruding forms corresponding to the two windows of the space. This design avoids a flat and monotonous appearance and increases the number of products on display. The design language of the display cabinets is inspired by antique furniture from Shanghai’s modern era, complemented by walnut wood cabinets and white marble stone back panels. The geometrically simplified rounded corners create depth and richness for the facade, extending the delicate retro aesthetics from inside to outside. Passing through the Modern Gallery, you reach the RedStar Lounge. Premium brand displays and VIP services are provided in this compact space of nearly 25 square meters. Built-in walnut wood display cabinets, walnut wood ceilings, parquet wood floors, and caramel-colored classic retro furniture, both furniture and decoration are carefully crafted to create a warm living-room experience.
红星眼镜的日常，是由人群，商品，场景共同营造的一个微型社群，也是百年老字号的过去，现在和未来。
RedStar Optical’s everyday life is a micro-community created by people, products and scenes, representing the past, present and future.
▲平面图 Plan © MEEM HOUSE
▲街区门厅The Street Lobby © 朱润资
▲记忆前厅The Memory Hall © 朱润资
▲摩登展厅The Modern Gallery © 朱润资 
▲摩登展厅的展柜The Display Cabinets in the Modern Gallery © 朱润资
▲摩登展厅的展柜细节The Details of the Display Cabinets in the Modern Gallery © 朱润资
▲红星客厅The RedStar Lounge © 朱润资
▲红星客厅展柜与展台The Corner of the RedStar Lounge © 朱润资
第一副，每一副
First Pair, Every Pair
摩登主义，诞生于上世纪三十年代上海的独特文化思潮，其中西兼容的美学奠定了当时上海都市圈的商业视觉形态，并渗透在生活，文化和艺术的各个角落。上海的摩登，不仅仅是刻板印象中的“小资情调”或“异域风情”，其内核更接近李欧梵先生的“上海世界主义”，而更是一种中西合璧、古今交融的熔炉文化，一种兼具世界性和地域性的上海现代性。我们有幸与红星眼镜一起，回溯挖掘百年品牌的商业文脉，并融合新零售时代的消费特点，以当代的材料技术和设计语言，复兴而非复古摩登主义美学，为老字号的品牌更新和老街区的城市更新提供一种可能性。
Modernism, originating from a unique cultural trend in 1930s Shanghai, featured an aesthetic compatible with both Western and Chinese. This aesthetic laid the visual foundation for Shanghai’s urbanism at the time and permeated various aspects of life, culture, and art. Shanghai’s modernism is more than just the stereotype of “les bourgeois” or “exoticism”. Its core is closer to Mr. Lee Ou-fan’s “Shanghai Cosmopolitanism,” a fusion of East and West, blending old and new, and Shanghai modernity in the global and regional dimensions. We are privileged to co-work with RedStar Optical to trace and integrate the brand history, revitalizing the modernism within the trend of the New Retail, which could be a possibility for the renewal of the time-honored brand in the historic downtown community.
华山路店正式开幕那天，红星眼镜把家喻户晓的广告语：“配眼镜，要放心，到红星”正式更新为主理人Kevin定稿的新标语：“第一副，每一副”。老字号的摩登，老城区的复兴，尽在无时不刻的城市更新中。
On the official opening day, RedStar Optical replaced its well-known slogan, “Get Eyeglasses, Trust RedStar,” with a new slogan: “First pair, Every pair.” The modernity of a time-honored brand and the revival of an old downtown street are constantly updating in the continuous urban renewal.
▲新标语New Slogan © MEEM HOUSE
▲开业前夜 The Night Before Opening © MEEM HOUSE
项目信息——
项目名称：红星眼镜华山路店
项目地址：中国，上海市，静安区
项目面积：130 m²
业主单位：红星眼镜
设计单位：MEEM HOUSE
空间设计：TOPOS DESIGN
视觉设计：MEEM DESIGN
主创设计师：冯岩岩
项目经理：吕杰
空间设计团队：王磊，张丹嫚，陈伊婧，林晨
视觉设计团队：秀子，吴凌艳
媒宣发表：王秋砚
机电顾问：王必虎
专业顾问：汝筠，施琰杰
学术顾问：摩登复兴研究小组
装饰供应商：上海市博华建筑装饰公司
道具供应商：上海宋记家具有限公司
照明顾问：集巨照明
空间摄影：朱润资
设计时间：2023.04至2023.05
施工时间：2023.06至2023.07
项目主材：微水泥，胡桃木贴皮，复古花砖，实木地板，雾面不锈钢，人造洞石，氟碳漆铝板
Project Information——
Project Name: RedStar Optical Huashan Road Store
Project Address: Jing’an District, Shanghai, China
Project Area: 130 m²
Owner: RedStar Optical
Design Firm: MEEM HOUSE
Interior Design: TOPOS DESIGN
Visual Design: MEEM DESIGN
Project Designer: Feng Yanyan
Project Manager: Lv Jie
Interior Design Team: Wang Lei, Zhang Danman, Chen Yijing, Lin Chen
Visual Design Team: Xiu Zi, Wu Lingyan
Media and Publicity: Wang Qiuyan
MEP Consultant: Wang Bihu
Professional Consultant: Ru Yun, Shi Yanjie
Academic Consultant: Modern Renaissance Research Group
Lighting Consultant: JIJU Lighting
Photography: Zhu Runzi
Design Period: April 2023 to May 2023
Construction Period: June 2023 to July 2023
Main Materials: microcement, walnut veneer, antique tiles, wooden flooring, stainless steel, artificial stone, perforated aluminum plate
