SIGMA Space by ONOAA STUDIO
SIGMA Space by ONOAA STUDIO brings together technology, nature, and art to express the brand’s long-standing belief that optical precision and artistic sensibility are inseparable.
Drawing from SIGMA’s Japanese heritage and its “Made in Aizu” philosophy, the 500-square-metre interior is conceived as an immersive environment where reception, product presentation, and exhibition functions coexist in quiet balance.
The project is structured around three guiding ideas—The Ways of Being, The Ways of Crafting, and The Ways of Seeing—which inform both layout and atmosphere. These principles translate SIGMA’s values into spatial experience, prioritising clarity, restraint, and emotional connection over commercial display.
The Ways of Being
The reception area establishes an immediate sense of intimacy. The original ceiling height was reduced to create a foyer-like condition, encouraging a slower, more contemplative arrival. Material choices are deliberately subdued: white concrete walls, grey-beige handmade brick flooring, deep blue wool at the reception counter, and warm brown niches integrated into the walls. Together, these elements form a calm backdrop that reflects SIGMA’s cultural roots and respect for craftsmanship.
A distinctive feature within this zone is the product repair room, fully visible to visitors. Designed as a compact, highly efficient workspace, it reflects SIGMA’s vertically integrated manufacturing approach. Three walls of precision drawers store small optical components, while integrated ceiling lighting lends the room a laboratory-like clarity. Dual workbenches face each other across flexible timber panels and windows, allowing for observation, dialogue, and transparency—an embodiment of SIGMA’s commitment to accountability and technical rigor across every stage of production.
The Ways of Crafting
At the heart of the project is the product display area, dedicated to cameras and lenses as both tools and objects of devotion. A large brown wool carpet anchors the zone, its dense structure milled into a soft, felt-like surface that introduces warmth and tactility. The colour palette moves beyond expected monochrome tones, reinforcing the brand’s openness to experimentation and evolution.
A ten-metre-long lens display wall rises three metres high, composed of triangular metal panels and over one hundred custom mounts. It presents SIGMA’s Contemporary, Art, Sports, and Cine lens collections in a unified yet legible arrangement. At the centre, a circular limestone table references the geometry of a camera lens. Embedded with fossil traces, the stone carries a geological sense of time, subtly paralleling photography’s ability to preserve fleeting moments. The dialogue between natural material and engineered metal reinforces the project’s central tension between craft and technology.
Adjacent to this is the camera display area, dedicated to SIGMA’s dp and fp series. These models represent the brand’s pursuit of complete optical systems, combining proprietary sensors with high-performance lenses. Here, meticulous detailing and restrained presentation underscore the belief that true quality emerges from patience, refinement, and human involvement rather than automation alone.
The Ways of Seeing
The gallery zone supports exhibitions, events, and cultural programming, reflecting SIGMA’s ongoing engagement with artistic practice. Raised 15 centimetres above the surrounding floor, the area adopts a Japanese-influenced framework that introduces a subtle sense of ceremony. Interventions are minimal, allowing artworks to take precedence, much like the intentional voids in ink wash paintings that invite reflection.
This gallery connects visually to the Fern Garden in Shanghai’s Upper Sheshan District. Custom blackout curtains regulate light and privacy, mediating between exterior activity and interior calm. The flexibility of this area supports multiple modes of use, reinforcing SIGMA’s belief that optical tools ultimately serve human expression.
Throughout the project, material restraint, precise detailing, and careful sequencing create an environment that mirrors SIGMA’s manufacturing ethos. Technology is present but never dominant, always in service of perception, craft, and artistic intent. By translating its philosophy into built form, SIGMA China offers an interior that prioritises experience over spectacle, inviting visitors to engage with the brand through observation, touch, and contemplation.
