Shenzhen City Mall Renovation

Situated in Shenzhen, China, where majority residents are the immigrates from elsewhere in China. To tackle the challenging retail environments, the demands of customer needs, and the mission to bring life and work balance ambience to this fast pace city, shenzhen city mall is the game changer to demonstrate how the transformation could be made by utilizing the existing space, by meticulous alteration to convert the existing space to new placemaking.

Building with the stories
The development has large basement retail, but is lack of walkable circulation and access with above ground plaza physically and visually. To transfer the enclosed retail space to vibrate attraction, the design opened up the slabs to get the skylight to bring in nature touch and vacation vibe. ‘Urban Oasis’ and ‘Bay Bazzar’ are two key spaces to get people away from typical Shenzhen fast pacing life style. ‘Bay Bazzar’ particularly brought in big bay area’s hustle and bustle life style by more modernised approach. The newly added in skylight, existing sunken plaza and refunctioned terrace access to plaza were integrated as wow factors to give the enclosed retail basement new life.

Even at rather compact above ground floors, it is still full of opportunities to convert existing negative space to energetic feature node. The ‘floating isles’ are situated at the existing escalator void, which drew the footfall to the end of the mall, also offered unique retail venues.

City Awakening is to bring modern hustle and bustle life style to this yet regenerated neighbourhood street. It is also the extension of ‘oasis’ themes, the ‘oasis’ to give people the breakthrough area from pressured daily life.


Holistic design languages

The existing verticalized mall offered good opportunity to draw the sightline to higher floors by abstract ‘forest’ elements design languages.

The holistic design languages brought all the feature areas together, and make it as more recognizable memorial power, hence bringing the new life to the long standing left behind mall.