SKYLIGHT

 

Located in the central area of Zhaoyuan, the expansion site of the shopping center is neighboring major traffic axis and a huge open plaza. The current mall can be divided into two parts based on form and function: the lower six shopping floors have a typical grid façade, with advertisements embedded inbetween; the upper part is for hotel and office use, with long window façade for light. Compared to the surrounding 4-7 story high residential buildings, the expansion volume of 10 stories is quite large which needs to be negotiated.

 

Creating a dialogue between the new and the current, the proposal divides the new volume up, in which the lower part matches the current height, while the upper part is embedded into the small-scale surrounding fabric with a gesture of moving in and out. The urban terrace created inbetween interacts with the cityscape and generates an attractive open view.

 

“Skylight” means both light and bright. The lower façade with a solid image extends the grid language of the current mall, while the sky part presents a light and airy image, reducing the pressure on the neighboring environment. At night, the sky part is brightly lighted up, like lanterns in the darkness. A through escalator connecting the ground level and the terrace ground level distributes people conveniently to the upper levels,  bringing a win-win situation for both the commercial activities and the urban public space.

 

 

Status

Jindu Shopping Center Extention Competition

 

Team

Shiqing Liu, Kai Fu Chung, Yang Liu