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PROJECT REPORT: RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS
T
he Shanghai Jiuguang Center, located in the northern Shanghai neighbourhood of Jing’an, was designed to be not only a retail destination, but also a central meeting point for locals. New shopping malls have for some time been developed as ‘all-in-one’ destinations in China, and this was the most crucial part of the vision for Lifestyle China Group, who commissioned UNStudio to design the complex in collaboration with Japanese architecture firm Nihon Sekkei. The project appealed to UNStudio because of the “opportunity to create a unique retail destination in Shanghai and possibility for good dialogue with the client,” explains partner and senior architect at the firm, Astrid Piber. An interview process with Lifestyle China Group was undertaken, with various architects considered based on their previous experience with retail projects, among other things. In the end, says Piber, it was UNStudio’s overall design ethos that won them the project. “The client placed a strong focus on creating synergy between architecture/ design and the commercial ambitions,” she says. “Our approach, which involves looking at the users and designing for numerous different experiences, became the tool to create such a synergy.” The project comprises two 100 metre high office towers and an eight storey
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shopping mall – the largest shopping complex in the northern part of Shanghai. However, although the retail and commercial elements of the project were an essential element, so too was the centre’s ability to provide a public meeting space for locals that they could – and would want to – visit regularly, whether shopping or not.
Design development The architects’ “human-centric” notion was central to the design development, with the practice viewing the project as they would any public space within a city. “We envision the centre as a destination to be taken on by people; that it becomes a place that one remembers well and wants to return to again and again for new experiences,” explains Piber. “Whether that be for consumption and shopping, or for the mere sake of being updated on what is going on and being among like-minded people, the space is open to all.”
From the outset of the project, Piber explains, Lifestyle China Group had a vision that the exterior of the building should “act as an ‘outer shell’”, and tasked Nihon Sekkei with the design of the building envelope. “For the interior, the client was looking for a concept that would help create a highly attractive destination in Shanghai,” Piber adds. UNStudio designed the interior of the buildings and the inner courtyard which they’re centred around.
ADF APRIL 2022
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