Market eight in Lianyungang, China by AQSO arquitectos office

Article source: AQSO arquitectos office

This shopping center is divided in five interconnected parts wrapped up by a translucent façade. The circulation is based on twisting corridors opening towards the surrounding landscape.

The project is located in the Chinese port city of Lianyungang, in the vicinity of a new amusement park. The master-plan for this low density area, intended for tertiary use, proposes an interesting organic land fragmentation.

The plot is westbound exposed to an urban condition –a small plaza-, while surrounded by a pedestrian walkway and a river on the opposite side.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

• Architects: AQSO arquitectos office
• Project: Market eight
• Location: Lianyungang, China

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

Site conditions determine the scheme strategy, specially designed so the building can be part of the landscape and its context.

Traditional shopping centers consist of an enclosed volume in which the covered interior atrium becomes the only public space with stores located around it. This configuration defines a loop circulation in the shape of a ring totally ignoring the context of the building and its relation with the city.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

Lianyungang market, on the contrary, turns this organization upside down by generating open courtyards and a figure-eight circulation.

This approach means that the building is divided in five zigzag-arranged parts knotted to each other by alternate slabs. The result is a market exposed towards the city, with a larger façade area and invaded by the surrounding public space of which becomes part.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

The building has up to four levels in its central part while the rest of volumes are lower, generating green roof terraces used by restaurants and cafeterias. The vertical connection between levels is solved with escalators located in the courtyards, boosting a circulation system for people to go around the whole building. Each group has an additional staircase and elevators for staff and users.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

The market façade is made of colored glass louvers, facing alternate orientations in each floor. Since climate conditions are favorable, public areas are open, so the façade works as a unifying, permeable and ventilated skin protecting the stores from the sun.

From the structural point of view, the building is composed of waffle slabs and reinforced concrete columns allowing up to 8.2 meters span. Despite the irregular shape of the plot and the building, the equal angles defining the courtyards allow a regular grid.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

AQSO arquitectos office

AQSO is a multidisciplinary office composed of an international group of professionals dedicated to contemporary architecture, urban planning and cultural research. Their philosophy combines a rigorous and pragmatic approach with an innovative attitude.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

Based in Spain and China, the office approaches every project with an ambitious methodology that investigates and analyzes social, economic, technical and sustainable issues. Their ability covers a wide range of types and scales, from public, commercial and residential buildings to town planning and urbanism.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

AQSO understands architecture as a multidisciplinary process, a comprehensive approach beyond living spaces, a method in cooperation with different professionals and consultants to become the coherent nexus between imagination and reality.
Their team has the international vision, experience, flexibility and ability to materialize each project from concept to site supervision.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

The office is founded by Luis Aguirre and is an international partnership. The practice relies on a multicultural team of experienced architects working on an open cross-disciplinary collaboration platform.
AQSO has been awarded for several international design competitions including Europan 9 and the Self-sufficient IaaC contest. The firm has received several prizes for public and restricted architectural competitions in Spain and China, where the company is based.

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

Image Courtesy © AQSO arquitectos office

Tags: China, Lianyungang

Categories: Mixed use, shopping center

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