Design of urban space, outdoor furniture, interiors of lobbyes and hallways and redesign of some of the facades of shopping arcade “The Village” at Sanlitun in the heart of Beijing.
First segment of a 1.5 millions square feet leisure, retail and cultural district designed for construction and design firm Oval partnership.
In a city like Beijing which lost most of his urban quality this shopping arcade master plan recalls the urban town design of the traditional historical city which was made of narrow alleys, small squares and irregular alignments of facades.
The goal was to create urban ground and sustainable environment characterized by a human scale space in which people feel invited to go for shopping, social interaction or cultural activities. .
“The Village” by Sanlitun Street is now one of the largest and most important shopping arcade in Asia, featuring top brands’ flagship stores like Apple’s Adidas’ Nike’s. Benetton’s to name a few. This project represents the first experiment towards a more sustainable approach to conceive a shopping centre as a human quality urban , interactive space in between the shops.
The layout of the project is unlike a traditional shopping mall made to increase the quality of life. Instead of a gigantic mall there are 19 buildings interspersed among a network of courtyards and alleyways with green features. A big emphasis is given to outdoor spaces and the creation of human size environment which people could meet enjoy. Shapes of the building are modern but the design of the master plan is inspired by the town design of the old Chinese cities characterized by the irregular shapes of alleys, courtyards and Chinese “hutongs”.
This urban space is also defined by the design of the outdoor furniture, graphic pattern of the paving and the façade design of some of the building.
To enrich the aesthetic quality of the space benches are designed like sculptural art object.
The pattern of the floor reflects the fragmented design of the master plan and different graphic solutions are arranged to highlight the functionality of the individual spaces. Some of the façades are covered by angular sculptural surfaces made of metal and green wall to mitigate the harsh climate of Beijing: this material is made of tiles of turf kept together by an internal metal web.
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Masterplan design of the shopping arcade
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Central square: urban place dedicated to multifunctional activities
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Urban "slope" for casual seating
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Urban "slope" for casual seating
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Urban "slope" for casual seating
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Urban "slope" for casual seating
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Graphic solution for paving of alleys.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Graphic solution for paving of urban "slope" seating area.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Graphic solution for paving of squares.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Graphic solution for paving of alleys and couryards.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Outdoor furniture designed like sculptural art objects.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Outdoor furniture designed like sculptural art objects.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Outdoor furniture designed like sculptural art objects.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Outdoor furniture designed like sculptural art objects.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Outdoor furniture designed like sculptural art objects.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Outdoor furniture designed like sculptural art objects.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Outdoor furniture designed like sculptural art objects.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Facade design.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Facade design
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Urban space of the square charachterized by the presence of awnings off the buildings to mitigate the micro-climate during the sunny days.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Urban space of the square charachterized by the presence of awnings off the buildings to mitigate the micro-climate during the sunny days.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Urban space of the square charachterized by the presence of sun-umbrellas to mitigate the micro-climate during the sunny days.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Interior design of hallways and lobbies..
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Interior design of hallways and lobbies.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
![ARBOIT ltd — The Village ARBOIT ltd — The Village]()
Interior design of hallways and lobbies.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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To refresh the micro-climate of the square during the hot sunny days the main square has a fountain feature.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Main square during the winter could feature an ice rink.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Signage panels.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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Signage panels
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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View of the square.
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.
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View of a courtyard with a green feature
© ARBOIT ltd . Published on May 11, 2014.