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PROJECT REPORT: MIXED USE SCHEMES
This 430,000 m2 “strategic” project for Chongqing comprises a seven-level retail mall totalling around 154,000 m2, with a further 14,000 m2 of ‘retail street.’ There is also 111,000 m2 of ‘super grade A’ office accommodation, and the big selling point, the 6,000 m2 interior garden, ranging over several levels of the building. The Ring is located in the Jinzhou Business District, which is itself also in the residential centre of Chongqing, and sits next to the picturesque Zhaomushan Forest Park. Direct connections to two lines of the Chongqing Metro make for convenient access to and from the new development from across the city.
The design development process was, by necessity, “heavily collaborative,” says Simon Chua, as “numerous specialist consultants” were required to bring the vision to life. This included the range of professional input needed to ensure a multi-level indoor garden would be fully supported and practically sustainable in a commercial interior. Therefore design strategies from lighting specialists, engineers, landscapers, interior designers
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and retail planners were required to “all come together seamlessly.”
Botanical benefits
The major design objective of the project – led by biophilia principles – was to ‘intertwine’ nature with the commercial environment to a much greater degree than normally achieved in such schemes. As a result, the design puts the botanical garden at the very centre of the building, having the key benefit of providing great air quality to internal spaces. With thousands of plants covering a broad range of species, the garden offers a “living, sunlit environment” that enriches the whole experience for users. The inclusion of a garden on this scale “creates a new retail habitat for people,” say the project’s designers. The garden in fact connects each of the mall’s seven levels, and the interior design augments the natural atmosphere created via the material palette and open plan approach. The ‘Oasis Walk’ combines with public seating and hanging fixtures to, in Chua’s words, “create intimacy with nature, and extend the gardens upwards.” The design creates
ADF APRIL 2022
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