Iron Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2026
Urban Serenity Apartment
by Xiyao Wang
- A' Design Award 2026 Iron Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Extended Play Lab
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 4,878
- Verification code DCCFB6AAE7 · Verify this award
About Urban Serenity Apartment
Urban Serenity redefines urban living by seamlessly blending elegance with adaptability. The design stands out for its innovative integration of spaces, enhancing natural light and visual connections while maintaining distinct identities through thoughtful color schemes. Key features of the design include a versatile central bar area, personalized room layouts, and a harmonious flow that supports both intimate and social functions, creating a home that adapts to diverse living scenarios.
Xiyao Wang's Urban Serenity Apartment presents a masterful exercise in contemporary residential design where architectural restraint and material refinement converge to create an environment of cultivated tranquility, situating itself within the broader discourse of twenty-first-century minimalism while drawing upon mid-century modernist principles of functional clarity and Scandinavian traditions that honor natural materials and subdued chromatic harmonies. The compositional achievement lies in the sophisticated orchestration of horizontal and vertical rhythms, where the repetition of linear elements including the floating black shelving planes, the recessed lighting coves within blonde wood cabinetry, and the geometric subdivision of the window mullions establishes a visual meter that guides the eye across the space with measured cadence, preventing visual restlessness while maintaining sufficient variation through the introduction of sculptural furnishing elements such as the parabolic copper floor lamp and the organic curved seating forms that provide counterpoint to the prevailing orthogonal geometry. The chromatic accomplishment demonstrates exceptional sensitivity to tonal relationships within a deliberately constrained palette, anchoring the composition in warm earth tones including sandy beige cabinetry, charcoal gray upholstery, and cognac leather accents, with strategic deployment of matte black shelving and metallic champagne table legs providing essential chromatic punctuation that prevents the warm neutral scheme from dissolving into undifferentiated softness, while the cool gray-lavender tonality visible through the window aperture introduces necessary temperature contrast that enlivens the overall harmony. Technical facility manifests in the seamless integration of functional systems within the architectural envelope, where lighting design reveals layered sophistication through the combination of recessed cove illumination that washes the cabinetry wall in gentle golden light, discrete downlights providing supplemental general illumination, and the sculptural task lamp offering focused directional accent, all calibrated to create soft overall luminosity that enhances material textures without generating harsh shadow or excessive contrast, suggesting meticulous attention to both photometric performance and aesthetic effect. The material palette exhibits refined restraint and tactile diversity, juxtaposing the ultra-matte finish of the blonde wood cabinetry that absorbs light and emphasizes planar continuity against the subtle textural variation of woven upholstery, the natural grain figuring of pale wood coffee tables, the dimensional ribbing of the charcoal ottoman, and the specular reflectivity of metallic accents, this orchestration of surface qualities inviting both visual appreciation and imagined tactile engagement. The work explores themes of domestic sanctuary within contemporary metropolitan existence, suggesting how deliberate curation of material, color, proportion, and light can construct environments that support both contemplative withdrawal and social gathering, the generous seating arrangement and approachable human scale indicating spaces designed for inhabitation rather than mere visual display, while the integration of personal objects on the shelving planes including books, vessels, and sculptural forms humanizes the refined aesthetic vocabulary and suggests the layering of individual narrative upon architectural framework. One might observe how the composition negotiates the perpetual tension between minimalist discipline and lived warmth, achieving a synthesis where restraint serves comfort rather than imposing austerity, inviting consideration of how contemporary residential design might honor both aesthetic coherence and the accumulation of meaningful objects and experiences that constitute a life fully inhabited.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Urban Serenity redefines urban living by seamlessly blending elegance with adaptability. The design stands out for its innovative integration of spaces, enhancing natural light and visual connections while maintaining distinct identities through thoughtful color schemes. Key features include a versatile central bar area, personalized room layouts, and a harmonious flow that supports both intimate and social functions, creating a home that adapts to diverse living scenarios.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The apartment area is 160 square meters.
- Tags
- Interior Design, Apartment Design, Modern Living, Minimalist, Abstract
- Production Technology
- The design of Urban Serenity utilized a blend of traditional and innovative techniques. We began by reimagining the apartment's spatial layout, breaking down barriers to enhance natural light and connectivity. The project employed precise spatial analysis to optimize room functions, using materials like warm-toned wood and soft textiles to create a cohesive atmosphere. Collaborative discussions with the homeowner guided the selection of lighting, furniture, and finishes, ensuring a tailored and refined result.
- Design Challenge
- The hardest part of designing Urban Serenity was creatively balancing openness with privacy. The challenge lay in reconfiguring the layout to enhance natural light and social connectivity while preserving intimate spaces. Historical and social contexts influenced our approach, as we sought to honor traditional Chinese spatial harmony. Limited space and structural constraints required innovative use of materials and technology to achieve a fluid, adaptable environment that meets modern urban needs.
- Project Duration
- The project started in 2020 in Shanghai, and finished in 2022. The project was severly delayed due to covid lockdown.
- Operation Flow
- The design transforms traditional apartment layouts by integrating spaces to enhance connectivity and interaction. By removing a key wall, we redefined the communal areas, allowing natural light to flood the living room and study, creating a continuous visual connection with the surrounding urban and natural landscapes. The central bar, dining, and living spaces are unified, encouraging fluid movement and interaction while maintaining distinct identities through contrasting color palettes.
- Research
- We conducted qualitative research focused on enhancing urban living. The objective was to create a space that blends warmth with functionality. We used spatial analysis, interviews with the homeowner, and observational studies to gather insights. Tools included 3D modeling and material sampling. The results showed a need for adaptable spaces with natural light, leading to a design that enhances well-being, fosters social interaction, and elevates urban residential standards.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration for Urban Serenity came from a desire to blend urban sophistication with a deeply personal, warm living environment. We aimed to create a space that not only reflects the dynamic energy of Lujiazui but also serves as a serene retreat. The design draws from the idea of fluidity in living spaces, allowing for versatility and adaptability while maintaining a sense of intimacy and connection with the surrounding urban landscape.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Rex Zou. Image #2: Designer Qiu Jin. Image #3: Project Manager Sitan Yi.
Colors of Urban Serenity Apartment
Grand Interview about Urban Serenity Apartment
The traditional residential layout rigidly compartmentalizes domestic life, separating the act of cooking from dining, and dining from living. In Urban Serenity Apartment, we wanted to dissolve these artificial boundaries by replacing the underutilized, formal dining table with a multi-functional central bar. This element was conceived as a continuous spatial anchor—a physical bridge that negotiates the transition between the high-activity kitchen and the passive relaxation of the living area.We envisioned this bar not as a static piece of furniture, but as a responsive stage for the household’s changing daily rhythms. In the morning, it functions as a highly efficient espresso station and quick breakfast counter; during the day, it transforms into an informal, laptop-ready touchdown workspace; and in the evening, it becomes an intimate social lounge for wine and conversation while dinner is prepared. By centralizing these diverse rituals, the bar removes the isolation of domestic tasks, allowing cooking, working, and socializing to coexist within a fluid, shared experience.
Lujiazui is defined by an intense, hyper-kinetic energy—it is a landscape of glass, steel, neon, and relentless speed. To create a true sanctuary within this environment, the design could not simply ignore the city; it had to establish a deliberate psychological equilibrium with it. We treated the apartment envelope as a sensory decompression chamber.We countered the cold, corporate materials of the external financial district by wrapping the interior in a deeply tactile, warm palette of muted cream panels, soft wood underfoot, and rich, dark wood veneers. Outward urban engagement is preserved through expansive glazing that captures the dramatic Shanghai skyline, framing it almost like a living piece of art. However, by softening the interior acoustics and utilizing indirect, low-glare architectural lighting coves, we allowed the occupants to observe the kinetic energy of the city from a position of absolute safety, quietude, and emotional grounding.
The qualitative research process completely transformed our approach to the apartment's spatial hierarchy. Through observational studies and in-depth interviews, we discovered a profound disconnect between standard real estate layouts and the actual lifestyle of modern urban professionals. We realized that our clients did not desire a series of closed, single-purpose rooms; rather, they suffered from "micro-isolation" within their own homes, particularly when one person was working late in a closed study while the other was in the living area.What surprised us most was how much the perception of physical space relies on visual continuity rather than raw square footage. This insight directly led us to remove a major demising wall, instantly unifying the living space and the study. To maintain acoustic privacy without sacrificing social connection, we introduced an interior window frame into the home office. This subtle layer of visual porosity ensures that even when performing separate tasks, the occupants remain tethered to a shared domestic life.
Urban Serenity Apartment powerfully embodies the criteria of space optimization and material excellence by rejecting ostentation in favor of structural and atmospheric precision. The innovation lies in its fluid topography—how the space uses calibrated material contrasts, transitioning from deep, compressed wooden corridors into bright, expansive communal zones. It honors traditional Chinese spatial harmony and the classic Haipai modernism of Shanghai, yet expresses it through a clean, international minimalist language.Receiving the Iron A' Design Award signals a major shift in the global conversation surrounding residential interior design. It indicates that the industry is moving away from luxury defined by surface ornamentation or excess square footage. Instead, the future of residential design is moving toward emotional resilience, psychological wellness, and hyper-adaptability. The home is being recognized as a critical sanctuary that must effortlessly support work, rest, and human connection within dense, high-pressure urban centers.
The disruption of the Shanghai lockdowns stretched our timeline from 2020 to 2022, forcing us into an extended, enforced period of reflection. Initially, the delays were a heavy logistical and emotional burden. However, as the world experienced unprecedented periods of domestic confinement, our relationship with the project underwent a profound metamorphosis. The apartment ceased to be just a design assignment; it became a real-time case study in existential survival and psychological comfort.This extra time ultimately became an unexpected creative opportunity to pressure-test our design thesis. Living through the pandemic made us hyper-aware of the micro-detailing required for a home to truly heal its occupants. We used the prolonged interval to rigorously refine the home-office boundaries, enhance the acoustic isolation between zones, and perfectly calibrate the warmth of the lighting coves. The delay stripped away any remaining superficial elements, ensuring that the completed apartment was completely optimized as a resilient, deeply therapeutic, and enduring personal sanctuary.
The original 160-square-meter layout suffered from typical twentieth-century domestic compartmentalization, which choked off natural light and forced a rigid, isolated way of living. My primary objective was to unlock the apartment's latent atmospheric potential. The chain of reasoning was simple: light is a premium material in dense urban centers like Shanghai. By identifying the wall dividing the living room and the study as non-load-bearing, we realized we could radically deconstruct the floor plan, allowing daylight to penetrate deep into the home's core and establishing an unbroken visual connection with the outside world.Achieving total spatial fluidity within an existing concrete building requires negotiating with structural realities, not fighting them. While the partition wall came down, we were left with immutable vertical infrastructure and overhead beams. Rather than attempting to disguise these structural elements, we celebrated them as spatial markers. We wrapped the columns in custom wall paneling and integrated them into built-in storage units. This allowed us to define distinct functional zones without erecting a single physical barrier, creating a boundaryless canvas that feels profoundly open yet structurally grounded.
Designing high-rise facades for prominent international offices forces you to master the physics of boundaries—how a structure regulates light, temperature, acoustics, and views at a macro urban scale. Transitioning to an intimate residential scale like Urban Serenity Apartment is essentially an inversion of that process. It is about taking that macro-level performance criteria and applying it to the micro-metabolism of a single home. The facade dictates how the building meets the city; the interior design dictates how the human spirit survives it. As patterns of living and working become permanently hybridized, the home can no longer be a passive container. It must perform dynamically. Moving forward into future projects, I see the integration of performance-driven design and deep spatial psychology as non-negotiable. Whether designing a supertall skyscraper or a private flat, the goal remains identical: manipulating light, shadow, and materiality to optimize human well-being, proving that architectural rigor and deep human empathy must always feed into one another.
Instead of relying on obvious surface decorations, we dug into the deeper, foundational concepts of traditional Chinese architecture—specifically the dualities of Shi and Xu (Solid and Void) and the classical garden garden-craft technique of Yuan (layered depth). Traditional Chinese houses are experienced as a series of shifting thresholds where spaces are intentionally revealed or withheld to create a sense of infinite discovery within a finite boundary. We translated these ancient principles into an entirely contemporary material and atmospheric lexicon. The entry sequence functions as a "solid" compressed corridor that deliberately builds anticipation before releasing the visitor into the bright "void" of the open communal area. The interior window looking into the study frames views much like a traditional garden pavilion portal, offering glimpses of life happening in an adjacent zone. By executing these concepts through clean architectural planes, muted cream panels, and rich wood veneers, we captured the meditative, rhythmic soul of Chinese tradition without mimicking its historic form.
When you eliminate physical walls, you lose your traditional boundaries; color and materiality must step in to assume that structural responsibility. In Urban Serenity Apartment, the color palette acts as an invisible choreography tool. We used a strict chromatic contrast to define the emotional atmosphere of each zone. The highly active, sun-drenched living and working areas are wrapped in bright, reflective, muted cream tones to maximize the volume of natural light. Conversely, the social and culinary nodes—the bar and kitchen—are enveloped in dark, deeply grained wood veneers to instill an immediate sense of intimacy, focus, and physical grounding. The collaboration with the homeowner was instrumental in refining this chromatic vision. Initially, our studio explored a slightly more contrasting, graphic palette. However, the client's deeply personal relationship with calm, tactile, and unpretentious textures pushed us to strip away any unnecessary visual noise. They desired an environment that felt completely therapeutic. This dialogue altered our vision in the best way possible, steering us toward a highly calibrated, monochromatic harmony that relies on variations in texture and sheen—rather than loud hue shifts—to articulate spatial transitions.
Above all else, I hope readers and design enthusiasts recognize that a home does not need excess square footage to achieve true luxury or monumental elegance. Luxury is a psychological condition. It is found in the fluid ease with which a space accommodates your daily human rituals, the warmth of the light falling across a textured surface, and its ability to act as a resilient, healing sanctuary against the relentless kinetic pressures of the outside world.