HENG SHAN LU

Competition upon invitation

The project is the result of an invite-only competition, on a property located in the French Concession district of Shanghai, for the definition of a large commercial space.

This part of the city is one of the few remaining with a contained, European-style urban dimension. And it is from a reflection on the contemporary city that the project takes shape. Commercial spaces in Asia are the main focus of urban life, shopping malls act as places of leisure, commerce, and meeting.

The aim was to offer a much broader and further-reaching vision, through the proposal of a new type of shopping mall: an ode to the European public space, in which the square is the heart and vital centre, shaping the entire shopping mall.

Designed on two staggered floors, it allows direct access to the shops at all times, the building seemingly one floor lower and maintaining the same ratio of scale along its entire length.
The ground floor houses the more public functions (the bars, restaurants, cafés) and luxury showrooms, while the basement floors are dedicated entirely to the shopping centre.
A large glass greenhouse stands in the centre of the square and sinks into the building, carrying natural light into the basement floors. Several green areas outline and characterise the pedestrian paths and square throughout the project.