Shanghai Xuhui West Bund Financial Hub Design Submission
Shanghai, China
International architecture practice, 10 Design, reveals its shortlisted design vision for Hongkong Land’s Shanghai West Bund Financial Hub in China.
10 Design’s proposed scheme for parcels C&D was submitted as part of Hongkong Land’s 32-hectare mixed-use site in one of the most promising cultural-financial district in China, with direct access to the subway as well as a planned cable car connection across Huangpu River to the Expo – Houtan District.
Comprising 5 neighbourhoods and 28 land parcels, the overall development celebrates the convergence of designs by 10 Design and a number of renowned architecture practices. 10 Design has been appointed to develop further two parcels (E&F) within the wider site that include a series of retail components, an office campus, as well as cultural and sports facilities, the design of which will be released in due course.
10 Design’s retail proposal for the 492,000sqm GFA scheme on parcels C&D utilises a unique retail configuration where 6 access points converge in a green central plaza, providing a human-scale approach to the development. Led by Design Partners, Chin Yong Ng and Lukasz Wawrzenczyk, the design concept proposes a unique retail building that blurs the lines between inside and outside, bringing together indoor and outdoor spaces into a central 5-storey shopping mall.
The scheme also includes 3 high-rise office towers, a luxury serviced apartment, a tower top hotel, and high-end retail streets made easily accessible through peripheral circulations. Inspired by local village context, the proposed design places an open plaza as the heart of the shopping centre filled with lush greenery and natural light throughout.
The central plaza is covered with a circular translucent ETFE canopy, forming an iconic oculus that brings natural light into the depth of the mall. During the night, the plaza turns into a flexible public space for performances, exhibitions, and projections with its dramatic lighting, providing a cultural attraction accessible 24/7 to the public.
The two main mall entrances incorporate simple pixelated massing with greenery on top: the entrance facing the river with constituted concrete blocks and white façade to echo the adjacent museum, and the entrance connected to the subway with glass blocks to create an inviting retail environment.
One of the distinguishing features located atop the mall is the sculptural gondola station that connects the scheme with the upcoming Shanghai Grand Opera House across the Huangpu River. The rooftop gondola gives a futuristic character to the building and provides panoramic views towards the river and the modern Bund skyline. It also creates a lush green roof that serves as the extension of the Bund Park across the river.
Restaurants, cafes and bars are placed along the higher floor units surrounding the oculus, encouraging people to explore the upper-level retail programmes along with a sky bar street, a kid’s playground, culminating at the floating pod housing the viewing deck, museum of Haipai and the gondola station.
Our project design aspires to create a landmark civic statement for Xuhui district embodying the Shanghainese Haipai spirit. Taking inspiration from the local figure Xu Guangqi, famous for introducing western science and technology into China, the proposal imagines the fusion of culture and space to enrich the visitors’ retail experience.
Through our retail planning strategy, the project has been reimagined as an urban retail hub that blends the cultivated space and the natural world, acting as a source of vitality for Shanghai’s Xuhui district.
team
Design Partners - Chin Yong Ng, Lukasz Wawrzenczyk
Project Leaders - Wen Ren, Sannie Yip
Architectural Team
Jaden Xiang, Stephanie Mendoza, Almudena Lacruz, Mujung Kang, Domenico Conti, Ted Tan, Chris Li, Alexandra Xia
Landscape Team
Ewa Koter
CGI Team
Peter Alsterholm, Lulu Guo, Henry Han, Yasser Salomon, Adisak Yavilas
Project Leaders - Wen Ren, Sannie Yip
Architectural Team
Jaden Xiang, Stephanie Mendoza, Almudena Lacruz, Mujung Kang, Domenico Conti, Ted Tan, Chris Li, Alexandra Xia
Landscape Team
Ewa Koter
CGI Team
Peter Alsterholm, Lulu Guo, Henry Han, Yasser Salomon, Adisak Yavilas
consultants
10 Design – Lead Design Architect
Elioth – Environmental Consultant
Visualisation by Inplace
