Project Overview

Located directly across from Vivacity Megamall in Kuching, the Satok Furniture Showroom is a striking reinvention of an existing shophouse originally designed by ARCHITEKUEH. Commissioned by one of Sarawak’s leading office furniture suppliers, the brief called for a spatial reconfiguration that would showcase diverse product lines within a contemporary and brand-forward environment. IDC Architects was engaged to lead the interior transformation of the multi-storey unit into a purpose-built showroom that balances industrial rawness with refined spatial flow.

Design Narrative

Given the wide variety of materials, textures, and colour palettes typically featured in office furniture, the design concept was intentionally reductive — serving as a neutral canvas that lets the products stand out. The design team embraced the existing raw concrete structure as a foundational backdrop and introduced a refined mix of exposed steel, glass, and terracotta to create visual contrast and spatial clarity.

The ground floor was opened up with full-height glazing, enhancing natural light penetration while creating a sense of permeability between the showroom and the streetscape. A warm patterned terracotta tiled floor was selected to soften the industrial feel and invite visitors into a tactile, human-scaled interior.

Architectural Features

A sculptural steel staircase and lift core form the central spine of the space, acting as both functional elements and modernist design interventions within the rigid structural grid. Along the façade, custom steel sliding screens featuring the Satok Furniture logo were introduced — serving dual functions as sun-shading devices and branded visual markersthat are highly legible from Jalan Wan Alwi. Designed to be visible both by day and night, these screens reinforce the brand’s physical identity within a high-traffic urban corridor.

Material Strategy

The use of raw steel and exposed concrete offers a sense of structural honesty and permanence, while the glass insertions create transparency and openness. Terracotta tiling grounds the design in local material culture, adding a warm, regional touch that juxtaposes effectively with the industrial palette. The result is a showroom that is not only highly functional, but also architecturally expressive — an ideal stage for Satok Furniture’s evolving collections.