The Peacock

This project was selected as an Honor winner in ARCHITECT's 2023 Architecture & Interiors Awards, Special Entry: Innovative Use of Material category.

"This is fantastic all the way around; as much a piece of art as interior design.” — Juror Tima Bell, Assoc. AIA

This year’s jurors have awarded a special honor to a project that not only deserves it, but that could hardly have received it for any extant category, so unusual is it in both type and design. The Peacock Cellar in Shanghai is Arizona-based August Green’s beguiling wine-storage concept—one that inverts almost every expectation of the typical musty, dusty cave à vin while also showcasing a host of design precedents all its own.

Composed of more than 1,000 porcelain tiles, its “feathers” are affixed to a delicate metal frame to form a giant network, connected to a font-like central table under a theatrical spotlight. The use of concealed lighting beneath each element accentuates the mesmerizing effect; with bottles nestled into the tiles, and a reflective steel ceiling above it all, the Peacock Cellar turns into an eye-popping oenophilic display, a soaring monument to the greatness of the grape.

Not so evident to the uninitiated, however, is the project’s other narrative agenda: Drawing on in-depth research into medieval Chinese tile-making, August Green worked with collaborators abroad to give each handmade piece its delicately textured blue finish, turning the whole design into a paean to the art and craft of the past.

PROJECT CREDITS
Project: The Peacock
Architect/Interior Designer/Lighting Designer: August Green, Phoenix. Kyle MertensMeyer, LEED AP, Associate AIA, IIDA (founding principal/lead designer); Brian Zhou (senior architect); Ni Yangchao, Tang Linwei, Nan YingTang (designers)
HVAC/Mechanical Engineer: THENOW
Fabricator: Shanghai Mingzhi Production Co. Ltd.

MATERIALS AND SOURCES
Ceilings: Polished stainless steel
Flooring: Polished black granite finish
HVAC: HSN-J90
Insulation: Rigid insulation
Structural System: Matte-black powder-coated steel
Wallcoverings: Charcoal stucco finish
Windows and Doors: Garofoli Biglass Filomuro interior door