Benoy’s Suzhou Center Mall is the largest mall in the city and boasts the world’s largest free-form monocoque roof.
Suzhou Center Mall is Benoy’s latest Retail project to open. Located in the heart of the western central business district (CBD) of Suzhou Industrial Park, the 300,000 m² retail development is the largest mall in the city. Benoy is the Architect, Interior Designer and Masterplanner behind Suzhou Center Mall, which will assist with the city’s urbanisation push, combining innovative architectural design with an expansive retail offering that houses over 600 brands and public spaces that connect people and place.
Comprised of seven storeys, six of which being above ground and one retail basement level, the mall is a new city landmark. Featuring an undulating multi-coloured roof, it is the world’s largest free-form monocoque roof at over 36,000 m²; its silhouette emulating phoenix wings to signify Suzhou’s growth taking flight.
Suzhou Center Mall boasts 60,000 m² of lush greenery across its numerous outdoor terraces, rooftops and the landscaped cantilever bridges that extend from two ends of the mall to the lakefront. A 45-metre-wide and 25-metre-high water curtain adorns the mall’s façade facing Jinji Lake. In front of the western entrance is a 1,600 m² semi-outdoor courtyard, the designated venue for large-scale public events. Two giant LED screens – each measuring 20 metres in height and 70 metres in width – artfully integrate with the design of the monocoque roof and offer stunning picture quality when turned on.
The strong value proposition of Suzhou Center Mall as a premium urban lifestyle centre with a strategic location in a fast-growing Chinese city has attracted keen interest from retailers. The mall opened with a high commitment of more than 90% for its net lettable area of approximately 152,000 m².
Suzhou Center Mall is designed as a green oasis that meets local and international design and sustainability standards. The development is dual-certified by China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development as a Two-star Green Building Design Label, and by the United States Green Building Council as LEED Gold. The mall has also been conferred the Gold Award in the Best Chinese Futura Mega Project category at the 2015 MIPIM Asia Awards, and a Highly Commended Award for Retail Architecture in China at the 2016 Asia Pacific Property Awards.
“We are proud to have been a key player in the design of this new development for Suzhou Industrial Park Jinji Lake Urban Development and CapitaMalls Asia. Suzhou Center is three times larger than ION Orchard in Singapore (also a Benoy project) and has become a new architectural landmark in the city – a scheme that not only engages with the community but will also boost Suzhou’s economic success,” said Craig Menzies, Director at Benoy.
(Feature image and video courtesy of Capitaland)
