An urban form that references the ancient city’s classical gardens, ornate bridges and world-renowned waterways to create a culturally enriched retail-entertainment destination.
Linking the history and historic garden environments of Suzhou, this new lifestyle destination includes shopping experiences for the locals and tourists alike.
The design blends both architecture and landscape together to offer visitors changing scenery as they move through the retail development. The structure is contained by a double skin façade which represents the garden wall, with 40% of the inner site opened up to provide a spectacular atrium bathed in natural sunlight.
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Bordering this courtyard space are dramatic setbacks and multiple height terraces and rooftop gardens, which mirror the scales, ratios and traditional rhythms of Suzhou’s historic architecture. Stairs, platforms and escalators were carefully positioned along the vertical circulation route to create an interesting journey with areas for visitors to rest. The use of natural materials and foliage interacts with water features to create a calming sanctuary while, striking features such as a lantern tower and rooftop amphitheater create points of interest.
The building mass emulates the scale and proportion of traditional Suzhou dwellings as well as their setbacks and varying heights. The facade design reinterprets the local architecture language, with a facade pattern based on the classical Suzhou garden window.
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