Dezeen promotion: UNStudio and Nihon Sekkei have created a semi-enclosed commercial complex in Shanghai, which comprises stacked blocks of different shapes and materials arranged around a courtyard.
Located within the inner ring of north Shanghai, adjacent to Daning Park, the newly opened Shanghai Jiuguang Center includes a shopping mall, a department store and twin office blocks of 350,000 square metres, making it the largest shopping centre complex in north Shanghai.
Shanghai Jiuguang Center is a new retail complex in Shanghai
The project is described by UNStudio and Nihon Sekkei as a "people-centred urban flagship complex". Unlike the closed-box designs typical of shopping malls, it features a large central courtyard, around which various stacked volumes of different shapes and sizes are arranged.
Shanghai Jiuguang Center includes a department store, shopping mall and twin offices
"An integral element of the central courtyard is the sunken area with integrated seating," said UNStudio. "Planting and lighting is designed to be used for events."
Looking up from the courtyard, a flowing skirt-like form defines the commercial spaces with interconnected curving surfaces.
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