Sunlay Design Group’s Folklore-Inspired Retail Center Will Soon Rise in China

Sunlay Design Group‘s latest endeavor is a modern shopping center with heavy ties to China’s ancient cultural influences. Inspired by classical dragon mythology and the principles of feng shui, the Chengde Tianshan Retail Center will offer the Hebei province a mixed-use shopping experience that fuses contemporary form with traditional methodology. Construction is set to begin this summer.

Occupying a restrictive, mountainous site that inhibits visibility from the street, the designers faced the challenge of responding to the unique terrain, while maximizing the Center’s usable area. The resultant design is a fluid form that defines the site’s perimeter and enables a woven program of indoor and outdoor retail venues. By wrapping the building around the site’s edges, the shopping center gains the elevation necessary to become a prominent reference point for the neighboring town.

The retail center creates a visually captivating spectacle with a lofty cantilevered wing resting some 20 meters overhead. At the site’s narrow entry point, the building meets the ground to form a transition between the natural and built environments. Blurring this distinction, the entrance responds to the site’s contours, providing a flexible civic plaza for congregation, relaxation, and performance.

As shoppers move beyond the plaza, they will be greeted with the commercial thoroughfare defined by steel panels and glass. The end of the street will be punctuated by a courtyard with 360 degree programming, including retail shops, restaurants, a cinema, karaoke bar, and hotel.

Architects: Sunlay Design Group
Location: Chengde, Hebei, China
Project Leaders: Yu Wang, Leandro Rolon
Project Manager: Yuan Yuan Wang
Project Design: Leandro Rolon
Project Team: Yu Wang, Jinghai Wu, Leandro Rolon, Yuan Yuan Wang, Jia Guo, Libin Lian, Weijun Jiang
Client: Tianshan Group
Area: 27535.0 sqm
Year: 2015
Photographs: Courtesy of Sunlay Design Group