At the 2026 Milan Design Week, insdim curated the exhibition for solid wood furniture brand JIFANG inside a venerable ancient city gate installation. Though housed indoors, the design avoids enclosure and instead prioritizes openness. No fixed viewing routes are marked out for visitors. Spaces connect naturally between interior and exterior, allowing the architectural character to integrate into the exhibition experience.
Beneath the gate porch stand two low wooden display platforms, holding the FU Armchair and Doppel Armchair oriented toward the square at the heart of the gate structure. Placing these core pieces in a semi-outdoor setting lets passersby grasp the exhibition’s main theme at a glance while concisely understanding the brand’s nature-rooted design philosophy.
Moving indoors, the main exhibition zone showcases the full FU Collection, including FU Armchair, FU Dining Chair, FU Easy Chair and FU Work Chair. Minimal descriptive text is displayed throughout the area to encourage visitors to closely examine the products’ original forms. Three raw timber planks from JIFANG form the backdrop behind the seating, delivering the brand’s professional focus on timber in the most intuitive way. Designed and co-developed by insdim, every piece in the FU Collection responds to the essence of the furniture in everyday living.
A side chamber also features four seating pieces from the FU Collection, with no display stands or informational signs installed. the space blurs the line between viewing and use. Visitors may step up, take a seat, experience the curved contours of backrests and armrests, feel the natural grain of timber, and engage with the design through interaction.
A wooden information board stands against the wall beside the staircase, detailing the design inspiration behind the Doppel collection and introducing its designer. The brand’s second collection is designed by American designer Nicholas Baker with developmental support from insdim. On the second floor, natural daylight filters through arched vault ceilings and merges into the display layout. Doppel Dining Chairs and Doppel Armchairs line up in a row to highlight each chair’s distinct silhouette alongside their practical stackable functionality. Sunlight skims across wood grain and defines the clean crisp outlines of each furniture piece.
Constrained by the compact space of the ancient gate venue, every spatial arrangement of the exhibition is carefully considered. Visitors wander freely from the porch to side chambers and between ground and upper floors following their own preferences, completing a full tour of JIFANG’s showcase effortlessly. The journey from Fuzhou to Milan marks not only an overseas debut for JIFANG but also a comprehensive spatial storytelling project accomplished by insdim through exhibition design practice.
