JOIN USLos Angeles-based studio amphibianArc has designed an unusual shopping mall in Henan province in central China inspired by the Chinese traditional treasure bowl, which symbolises good fortune and peace.
The Dongfeng Shopping Mall, located in a residential area of Zhengzhou, features incredible indoor and outdoor landscapes, from an elevated fountain plaza and indoor canal to a huge vertical aquarium located in the centre.
The mall’s 3,50,000 sq metres of retail, entertainment and service areas are distributed across nine floors and include restaurants, an indoor canal, a large elevated fountain plaza and a hotel, all lit by an impressive LED canopy stretched over the building.
The building is meant to generate myriad social activities and create a setting for an inter-connected community rooted in tradition. The entire complex, part of the Dongfeng City project designed by the Los Angeles studio, is permeated by the theme of water, which creates pleasant spaces and brings life into the structure.
The fountain plaza will become one of the largest of its kind in China and is meant to function as a community meeting place. Visitors to the mall will be able to take a ride through the giant aquarium, or take a gondola tour of the canal.