The most beautiful appliance store feels like a private residence: Gaggenau’s Taipei flagship hides a 5-meter island and a private wine cellar

If stepping into an appliance store has you imagining your next dinner party, a private wine cellar, or even what your future home might look like, it’s clearly more than just an appliance store. Gaggenau has officially opened its first standalone street-front flagship store in Taiwan’s Xinyi District, blending Dadaocheng shophouses, handmade Taiwanese bricks, and stone from Hualien into the precise world of German ultra-luxury kitchen appliances to create an ideal home you can truly step into.

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Not a replica of Europe, but Dadaocheng brought to Xinyi District

The entire store is built around the concept of “Interwoven Fragments,” inspired by Taiwan’s urban landscapes, where old and new coexist. The design team drew particular inspiration from the long, narrow, deep layout of Dadaocheng shophouses: moving from the exterior inward, the space gradually shifts from open to intimate, with courtyard-like points that regulate light, sightlines, and the pace of movement.

Large windows bring in natural light and greenery, while sliding doors and screen-style double doors allow different areas to connect or be separated as needed. Rather than directly replicating old red-brick houses or traditional temples, the design translates courtyards, timber structures, weaving, and local stone into a contemporary vocabulary. Walking through it, you can sense Taipei’s familiar atmosphere without the feeling of a deliberately retro set.

From century-old kiln-fired bricks to the Black Forest, browsing appliances feels like visiting an exhibition

The flagship store is divided into five main areas: The Gallery, The Difference, The Salon, The Private Dining, and The Atelier, each like a room in a luxury home with its own character. At the entrance, The Gallery displays Gaggenau kitchen appliances like an art gallery, with handmade bricks from a century-old kiln in Changhua laid underfoot. Each brick retains the variations left by shaping and firing. Rough travertine contrasts with precisely finished metal and glass surfaces, bringing a sense of time and handmade warmth to the technology.

Next, step into The Difference, where birdsong, deep light and shadow, and the sound of hammering transport you to Germany’s Black Forest in 1683. At the center is a horn anvil, representing the brand’s origins as an iron forge, so a craft history spanning more than 300 years becomes more than words on a wall: it is an immersive experience you can hear and see.

A 5-meter island, private dining room, and wine cellar bring ideal living to life before your eyes

Beyond the courtyard, The Salon is the part of the flagship store that comes closest to a “dream home.” An island more than 5 meters long and an expansive kitchen form the visual centerpiece. The ceiling structure draws on the order of the timber framework beneath the eaves of a traditional sanheyuan house, while the cabinetry takes inspiration from the Japanese namaguri finishing technique, which planes wood into delicate tortoiseshell-like patterns.

Further inside, The Private Dining can shift between open dinner gatherings and private meetings as its partitions open and close. The dining table is made from serpentine stone from Hualien, its interwoven light and dark green veins resembling a miniature version of Taiwan’s mountain ranges and forming the space’s most distinctive local landscape. The final area, The Atelier, feels more like a private reception space open only to longtime guests. With dark wood, a long table at its center, and the atmosphere of a wine cellar, it is suited to exploring ingredients and aromas or enjoying prized bottles with a small circle of close friends. By this point, the appliances are no longer simply objects on display; they are naturally integrated into the everyday scenes of hosting, cooking, and gathering.

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