Chongqing Yubei Wuyue Plaza is located in the core business district of the Central Park neighbourhood of Liangjiang New Area. The site is in close proximity to the Central Park, the largest open urban park in Asia and the third largest open urban park in the world. Involved since the master planning stage, Benoy provided architectural and interior design services for the complex. The complex has a total floor area of 441,700 m² , including an area of 123,000 m² for shopping malls, an area of 38,000 m² for outdoor commercial streets, and an area of 130,000 m² for offices. The main tower is a Grade 5A office building with a height of 238 m, making it one of the tallest buildings in the central business district (CBD). Bolstered by the national development strategy, the project is well-positioned to seize this regional development opportunity, setting a benchmark for commercial properties in Western China.
We designed the complex to be a place of convenience for visitors thanks to the seamless interconnection of different zones while retaining the commercial purpose for the client. The design of the project was inspired by “Chongqing”, a painting produced by Guanzhong Wu, which depicts local people’s settlement and their basic needs, including clothing, food, shelter and transportation.
We looked to reflect the geographic features of Chongqing into the architecture, landscape and interior design of the complex, to inject vitality into the commercial property market of Chongqing. As buildings of different heights are scattered throughout the complex, we decided to design several ground floors with different vertical heights, so that customers could come to the complex to shop or dine, yet also get a feel to “experience” the geographical features of Chongqing, also known as the 8D Magic City. The layout inside the complex consists of rich and diverse businesses, offering a variety of options for consumers. This includes supermarkets, cinemas, fitness centres, international brands, lifestyle stores, stylish restaurants, children’s stores and other business formats, making it easy for the whole family to find their own space and experience. In terms of iconic space design, we strived to create blocks with different themes such as “Chongqing Wharf” and “Starry Kitchen”. While attracting and engaging consumers is a must, our aim was also to create talking points and to serve as a leader in lifestyle innovation.
In terms of architectural design, we ensured that we kept up with the urban design of Chongqing Yubei Central Park CBD, and cleverly turned geographical disadvantages into advantages. We capitalised on the 18-metre height difference in the east-west direction to create a unique “five ground floors” by leveraging the prime location of the site, that being, adjacent to Line 5 and Line 10, as well as the underground connecting passages.
Based on the understanding and interpretation of the property owner’s corporate culture and Chongqing’s unique local culture, we further elaborated upon the design concept of “joyfully dancing in the mountainous city” and built spaces with local flavours to reflect and show our respect to the traditional urban fabric of Chongqing. We reserved spaces for a variety of business formats inside the shopping malls, in the plaza and on the roofs. We connected shops catering to future consumer scenarios through different spaces and traffic flows, making full use of the height difference, commercial traffic flows and space. Ultimately, it will offer a unique and differentiated consumer experience that integrates the indoor and outdoor space, the top and the bottom, and the front and the rear. The original design concept of five ground floors and the proposed experience of changing views for different spaces have been fully realized with the completion of the project.
After adjoining the two city icons, Yubei Central Park CBD and Wuyue Plaza, as well as Benoy’s inclusion of shaping the diverse business formats, the complex is set to become an extremely trendy and lively place that truly achieves the goal of “Wuyue Plaza: joyfully dancing in the mountainous city”.
In terms of interior design, our team divided the interior commercial space into five upper and lower floors. The idea behind the main atrium was well conceived thanks to the unique night scenes and skylines of Chongqing.
On the third and fourth floors, we added overhanging balconies, enriching the mixed atrium space while increasing the leasing area of commercial properties. In line with business formats, the atrium of the east zone is designed to reflect the interesting characteristics of the urban traffic in Chongqing, and the spaces are connected through connecting bridges on each floor. The circular shape delivers a converging visual effect.
On the floor selling children’s products, a red runway markings were added to liven up the space.
The south atrium bridges the east and west zones while serving as an important point of competition among the various shopping centres within the business district. By opening up the entrance space, a five-story high-rise space was formed with the perpendicular hall reminiscent of a terraced field. The escalators were placed off to one side so that the space appears grander and more unified.
When designing the underground atrium, we were inspired by Chongqing’s fantastic forest and hoped to provide an exploratory space experience. We designed the pillars in the middle to resemble open fishing nets spreading out, turning the space into quite a feature of the project and providing a light visual feel.
In addition, a host of creative retailing formats are situated at the entrance to the metro station to attract passers-by, creating a unique place of interest that integrates “Light meal + DIY + culture”. Circular ceilings were built around the pillars to create enclosed areas without physical boundaries, allowing pedestrians to appreciate the diverse designs of the ceilings while traversing the space. This has created another place of interest for larger crowds to converge. In the restrooms, a hexagonal cell design has been extensively applied to walls, floors and wash basins. The pink walls soften the space with a charming and feminine atmosphere, which strongly appeals to visitors.
Since its opening, the complex has successfully realized its purpose of bringing vitality to the Yubei District. At the same time, it also provides a unique one-stop experience by meeting the needs of consumers for work, shopping and recreation.
Project overview:
Scope of services:
Master Planning, Architectural Design, Interior Design
Category:
Complex, commercial and office building
Client:
Seazen Holdings
Total floor area:
441,700 m² , including an area of 123,000 m² for shopping malls, an area of 38,000 m² for outdoor business streets, and an area of 130,000 m² for offices.
Chief Designer:
Qin Pang
Architecture Design Leader:
Wei Tang
Architecture Design Team:
Yue Zhang, Xian in Ni
Interior Designer Leader:
Chunming Xu, Zhaohua Zeng
Interior Designer Team:
David Baik, Liping Song, Chenlang Zou, Linjuan Zhang, Yucan Pan, Xinqi Liu
