Since early 2018, Benoy’s proposal has stood out amongst the proposals of many other leading design firms. After winning the international design competition, it took 3 years of design development before Suzhou Joy Breeze officially opened in September 2021. Benoy design team and owners witnessed the launch of Grandjoy Holdings Group’s brand-new Joy Breeze product line in Suzhou. Not only was this Benoy and Grandjoy Holdings Group’s 4th successful collaboration, but it also marks the completion of another landmark project.
Suzhou Joy Breeze is the first commercial project built by COFCO’s subsidiary, Grandjoy Holdings Group, in southern Jiangsu, and is the company’s first step in establishing themselves in the region. The scheme is located in Xiangcheng District, the new centre of Suzhou. Suzhou Joy Breeze is intended to be the flagship project in the Joy Breeze product line and is anticipated to become the next commercial landmark with a significant brand identity.
The brand positioning of Grandjoy Holdings Group’s new Joy Breeze product line is defined as “cosy, fashionable, relaxing, and stylish”. Suzhou Joy Breeze reflects an “ideal Gusu lifestyle” and is targeted at the urban middle classes, specifically the young (25−45 years) and older middle-class residents in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. In terms of stores, Suzhou Joy Breeze has attracted nearly 400 domestic and foreign premium brands, more than 40% of which are first stores or flagship stores and over 50% of which are lifestyle brands targeted at middle-class shoppers.
Suzhou Joy Breeze is located in the city centre and adjacent to Metro Line 4 and Middle Ring Expressway. It is close to the city’s north-south Renmin Road development axis and within the vicinity of completed residential properties and supporting facilities. Next to the city’s 21.7 km² central park and Suzhou’s only tertiary maternity and child health hospital, Suzhou Joy Breeze brings together the best community-based city resources in an unbeatable location.
With a total construction area of roughly 330,000 m², the project includes a shopping mall, commercial street, a P+R public transit hub and an independent parking building with 3,000 parking spaces. The project is recognisable for its vast public squares, diverse activities and recreational areas. These various sections are linked up by a multi-level thoroughfare that connects the under- and above-ground levels and allows users to weave through the shopping streets between the different floors. The design is aimed to integrate the variety of business and activity formats as a whole, making the north of Gusu District the ideal place to live.
The Benoy team has been fortunate to witness the development of the Suzhou Joy Breeze project. From masterplanning to providing architectural services from the initial planning stage until the completion.
The design concept drew “joy breeze” as a source of inspiration as well as a passage from the Analects of Confucius which speaks of a former era and the feeling of fullness and joy in the springtime.
The design aims to evoke vitality, energy and colours of springtime into the plan while incorporating some aspects of Suzhou’s local history. Benoy is very proud to have worked with Suzhou Joy Breeze to realize the vision of “joy breeze” — a unique leisure environment and premium shopping experience.
Qin Pang, Benoy Director, Head of the Shanghai Studio and Principal Project Designer, said:
“During the tender process, we focused on adding value to the experience of wandering around the complex. We broke down the simple, traditional pattern of a big box with thoroughfares, by putting more emphasis on transitional spaces and transitions between indoors and outdoors, ensuring different scenes are intertwined with one another. The final space you see today and its popularity are testaments to the success of our vision. I’d like to thank the owners and the team. I wish the Suzhou team every success — here’s to many years of business to come”!
At the beginning of the design, the Benoy team and owners agreed that the Joy Breeze product line differs from traditional commercial complexes. As an upgraded product line of the traditional Joy City shopping centres, the nature of the public space was still similar to that of Suzhou’s local gardens. To reflect a new vision for the city, the project needs to create more recreational spaces and feature more ways for customers to have fun and shop. Therefore, after careful evaluation of the spatial organisation and land patterns of Suzhou gardens, the design team applied creative designs to enhance the commercial foot traffic and node designs which revitalises the historic Suzhou gardens into a modern commercial space.
A variety of springtime elements were adorned throughout the multi-level terraces and blocks and into various venues and spaces for shopping, leisure, and entertainment. In addition to satisfying people’s shopping necessities, the project also pays attention to that special element of surprise — for visitors coming day-to-day to do their shopping or meet with friends, each visit will bring a new and exciting experience. In terms of physical space, the project orchestrates a harmonious coexistence between the city itself, nature, and the community, while adhering to its original intention to empower the commercial space.
In terms of layout, a circular line that runs through the interior and exterior anchors the shopping mall to the neighbourhood, providing a seamless connection between businesses and the natural transformation between spaces. During the design process, the Benoy team decorated the spatial blocks and façades with Joy City’s branding while also paying meticulous attention to the control of spatial scale to create more cohesive interfaces for visitors by using pleasant small-scale spaces, which is different from the conventional commercial big box approach. The reinterpreted pavilions, platforms, buildings, and towers provide recreational spaces and add vibrancy to the overall spatial experience.
The design scheme takes into account unique characteristics of relaxation, entertainment, comfort and high quality while capturing the customer’s need for convenience and lifestyle. The scheme is built on an architectural model of “park + neighbourhood + box” while adorning Joy City’s iconic orange colours as the bridge that connects retail, dining, lifestyle, services, leisure, entertainment, social and family-oriented space — creating a new generation lifestyle destination where nature, culture and commerce blend together.
Benoy is honoured to have worked alongside Grandjoy Holdings Group. We would like to thank the owners and the team for their support and trust throughout the project and extend our warm congratulation to the client on the successful opening of Suzhou Joy Breeze.
Project Overview:
Scope of Services: Masterplanning, Architectural Design
Type: Retail
Client: Grandjoy Holdings Group
Total Floor Area: Approximately 330,000 m² (of which 170,000 m² is commercial space)
Plot Ratio: 1.6
Principal Project Designer: Pang Qin
Project Leaders: Zhang Liang, Shi Bo
Project Team: Li Yaling, Zhao Fei, Zheng Huijin, Li Yukun, and others.
