Articles by Andreas Luco

The MixC One Mall, created for project developer CR Land, is in Dalian, a port city on the Bohai Gulf widely considered the romantic city of north-east China. The characteristic coastal landscape of the region, an identifying feature for the local population, became the leitmotif of the design. The 84,000 m² mall contains more than 260 stores and combines a superlative shopping experience with the concept of a social hub consistently developed around the user’s perspective. Among the mall’s visual highlights are its impressively large atrium voids that are flooded with natural light thanks to generous skylights. The individual levels are modeled in a variety of organic shapes around a central air space. The atriums are thus stacked and staggered upon each other, resembling the irregular projections of a rocky island. At the same time, visual relationships are created between the galleries on the different vertical levels, arousing curiosity and encouraging visitors to explore the space. Overall, the mall appears as a large-scale sculptural space that is clear and uncluttered, yet full of surprises.

Bridge and Stone – Hangzhou is characterized by its numerous bridges. The “Qiantang County Records” states: “The residents of Qiantang are densely populated, with bridges every hundred steps and ten paces, with tracks and bridges for passage.” In the Yuan Dynasty, Marco Polo wrote in his travelogue: “Traveling in Hangzhou, surrounded by various waters, there are twelve thousand stone bridges.” We interpreted such bridge structures as symbols of connection and communication, equality and breadth. With this theme in mind, the space is conceived as a bridge between the global brand and its Hangzhou context. When entering the space, the huge water sink in the center is a concrete manifestation of the concept. People can stroll or stop by “the bridge,” where the water is flowing from the tap and the rectangular stone slabs bridging it create a dynamic context for “connection.”

Bridge and Stone – Hangzhou is characterized by its numerous bridges. The “Qiantang County Records” states: “The residents of Qiantang are densely populated, with bridges every hundred steps and ten paces, with tracks and bridges for passage.” In the Yuan Dynasty, Marco Polo wrote in his travelogue: “Traveling in Hangzhou, surrounded by various waters, there are twelve thousand stone bridges.” We interpreted such bridge structures as symbols of connection and communication, equality and breadth. With this theme in mind, the space is conceived as a bridge between the global brand and its Hangzhou context. When entering the space, the huge water sink in the center is a concrete manifestation of the concept. People can stroll or stop by “the bridge,” where the water is flowing from the tap and the rectangular stone slabs bridging it create a dynamic context for “connection.”