RECONSTRUCTING HISTORICAL SECTIONS

Breaking Down the Walls: A Dialogue with the City

Immersive theatre experiences and multimedia displays are common communication tools in corporate showrooms. Yet these formats often require strict control of light, leading exhibition spaces to block out natural daylight and tell a self-contained, hidden narrative.

The Ping An Group Showroom is located at the very heart of Shenzhen. Beyond the exhibition space lies the city itself, the real ground where China’s reform and opening-up has unfolded over more than four decades, and where Ping An’s story truly took shape.

By bringing in natural light from outside, the gallery weaves the city's story into its own. Through the glass, the gallery enters into a dialogue with the city. Visitors look back on history, development, transformation, and innovation within the gallery; turning around, they see the urban fabric of Shenzhen， vigorously grown over forty years， unfolding beyond the windows. The two serve as footnotes and affirmations of each other. A corporation and a city meet, collide, and co-create within the same space. This unique interplay between interior and exterior precisely mirrors the trajectory of Ping An Group - a fellow traveler in step with the times.

Anchored in History: Reconstructing Historical Sections

Corporate showrooms often organize content by business sectors, presenting products and services one by one. A group-level showroom, however, should not simply repeat the logic of a business showroom. It needs to move one level higher. It needs to answer the question: why? And this question is rooted in mission and origin. VAVESTUDIO proposed the curatorial strategy of “Reconstructing Historical Sections,” anchoring the company’s development within real historical moments.

The long-standing national aspiration for an independent insurance industry after the Self-Strengthening Movement, and the pioneering mission reignited during China’s reform and opening-up. These are historical coordinates already familiar to visitors. By placing the company’s development within this broader context, the abstract story of corporate growth gains the weight of its time. Visitors find an emotional entry point through shared historical memory, creating a deeper dialogue with the enterprise.

The logic of this content strategy directly evolved into the spatial design language. Ping An Finance Centre occupies the position of Shenzhen's "core anchor," with both its architectural form and its visual relationship to the city skyline embodying a distinct "anchor" imagery. The design draws inspiration from the building and Ping An's logo, reinforcing this image through inverted triangular structures. Located on the lower level of the original "Sky Lobby" that once connected the 83rd and 84th floors, the gallery features a soaring, transparent four-corner space. Through the "anchor installations," it establishes an inner-outer dialogue with the city.

Exhibition Chapters

Within the showroom, the anchor points play both visual and narrative roles. Here, the anchors of content and the anchors of space become one. At each anchor point are dramatic historical events. Flowing between them is the development journey of a company moving forward through the tides of history. Together, they interweave enterprise, nation, and society into one connected narrative.

A journey from the 1st floor to the 83rd, rising, waiting, anticipating. A four‑panel immersive screen unfolds Ping An’s development story. As the screen fades, and the clouds part, the city reveals itself.

Facing the four-fold screen is the Honor Wall, where the company's awards from past years are on display. Its layered divisions, like those of an archaeological stratum, signify the accumulation of history, while the modular design allows flexibility for future exhibitions. On the other wall, an interactive sliding screen presents Ping An's history in greater chronological detail. By sliding the screen marked with year labels and pulling out archive cards from the desk, visitors can read through the key milestones of Ping An's 40-year development.

An immersive light-and-shadow theatre brings visitors into the scenes of history. From the century-long national aspiration for insurance after the Self-Strengthening Movement to the pioneering mission revived through reform and opening-up, the chapter spans a hundred years of national sentiment and enterprise spirit.

Stepping into a faithful recreation of Ping An’s very first business hall, visitors journey through a time tunnel back to the very beginning. Here, they decode the initial spark and the defining DNA of the enterprise.

On one side unfolds the trajectory of business growth; on the other, the Shenzhen skyline stands alongside authentic physical artifacts from the city’s history. These two clues serve as mutual witnesses to one another.

The V-shaped screen functions as a sculptural installation, establishing a sense of stability that "anchors" the entire space. For it is through this anchor that true peace and stability are found.

Moving through history, the gallery turns to the present. This chapter presents a restrained business landscape, Financial Advisor, Health Advisor, Elderly Care Advisor, three core roles unfolding in clear succession, faithfully showcasing the breadth and depth of Ping An's services.

The golden wheat field is hope, is vision, and is the final blank space.
This is both an exhibition hall and a theater - as visitors step into the wheat field area, four projection screens descend slowly from above, until the lights finally come on and the golden wheat field emerges before their eyes.

The space opens up, wheat rippling like waves, symbolizing cultivation and giving back. From Shekou to the world stage, all the grand narratives at this moment settle into a simple reflection - social responsibility, green finance, rural revitalization, volunteer service, not presented through crowded displays, but conveyed through atmosphere. In the wheat field lies Ping An's answer to the era, and a blank space left for every visitor.

By bringing the cityscape into the exhibition and anchoring the narrative in historical slices, the Ping An Group Showroom marks a bold exploration by VAVESTUDIO in spatial design and narrative innovation for corporate showrooms. Here, visitors encounter history, resonate with the city, and connect with the enterprise. Moving through space, they experience a deeper journey through time, mission, and responsibility. This is the story of Ping An, and also a story in which every visitor can find their own place.