three bands of limestone tiles run throughout the space
Photo © Peter Dixie
reeded and flat panels are articulated by brass plate
Photo © Peter Dixie
change in wall texture enriches spatial rhythm
Photo © Peter Dixie
a 1:1 mock-up of the original tea-house design
Photo © Peter Dixie
a delicate wooden pavilion for a pause
Photo © Peter Dixie
an orderly wooden screen complements the homogenous limestone wall
Photo © Peter Dixie
the resting area finally adopts a design that blends into its surrounding
Photo © Yui Zhang
view of the northwestern public area
Photo © Yui Zhang
a pure space cultivates a sense of duty in us to ensure its order
Photo © Yui Zhang
green plants and the changing textures give a sense of vitality
Photo © Yui Zhang
design a tranquil corner in the public realm
Photo © Yui Zhang
panoramic perspective of the corridor
Photo © Peter Dixie
advertisement screens integrated seamlessly into organic wall
Photo © Peter Dixie
a door for guests vs. a door for back of house
Photo © Peter Dixie
the tip of the iceberg can be seen from the entrance
Photo © Yui Zhang
copper strip detail connecting two bands of walls
Photo © Peter Dixie
a continuous organic cave from wall to ceiling
Photo © Yui Zhang
a contrast between order and arbitrary
Photo © Yui Zhang
a futuristic cave reflects the adjacent retail mix on kids, sports and electronics
Photo © Yui Zhang
mirrored stainless steel holes play with viewers with distorted reflections
Photo © Yui Zhang
a more extensive area demonstrating the plasticity of GRG
Photo © Yui Zhang
bigger signage graphics are integrated as potholes
Photo © Yui Zhang
entrance to women's washroom
Photo © Yui Zhang
entrance to men's washroom
Photo © Yui Zhang
washroom walls continue the curvilinear approach
Photo © Peter Dixie
washbasins as stacked stone pillars
Photo © Peter Dixie
the stacking method allows smooth integration of a lower kids’ washbasin
Photo © Peter Dixie
an undulated wall replaces traditional baffles
Photo © Peter Dixie
the wall of elevator lobby adopts the reeded stone texture
Photo © Yui Zhang
the interior of the elevator car continues the streamline and natural design
Photo © Yui Zhang
seamless integration of the floor display panel under etched metal plate
Photo © Yui Zhang
lighting as a means to decorate the scissor escalator atrium
Photo © Yui Zhang
an effective design inspired by meteor showers
Photo © Yui Zhang
the textured wall at the parking lot elevator lobby entrance
Photo © Yui Zhang

Hall of the Sun Public Space Interior Design

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Location
No. 181 Rui Hong Road, Hong Kou District, 200086 Shanghai, China
Year
2021
Client
Rui Hong Xin Cheng
Team
Christina Luk, Yicheng Zhang, Haixin Wang, Edoardo Nieri, Dong Wu, Charis Nicolaou, Kevin Yang, Wendy Zhang, Jimmy Zhu, Weifeng Yu, Xiaojian Yan, Sarah Wang
Principal Architect
Arquitectonica
Structural Consultant
Arup International Consultants (Shanghai) Co., Ltd
M&E Consultant
Parsons Brinckerhoff Engineering Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. Shanghai Branch
Lighting Consultant
Lighting Planners Associates
Lighting Development
Shanghai Tongji Interior Design Engineering Company
Landscape Consultant
Design Land Collaborative
VI Consultant
Dutton Bray Design Limited
General Contractor
China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd
Photography
Peter Dixie, Yui Zhang
Post-Processing
Eagle Impression

Located in the North Bund of Hongkou District, Hall of the Sun is a 180,000 square meter commercial hub with an emphasis of nature in the design, including its curvilinear facade and a 3-storey-high biophilic food hall under Shanghai’s largest skylight roof canopy. Informed by the organic architecture, Lukstudio has extended the concept of nature and vitality into the public interior spaces.

The scope includes all the elevator lobbies, elevator interiors, corridors and washrooms from Level B4 to L4. With the design intent of creating artificial “caves” , our enthusiastic team experimented a handful of remarkable proposals with various materiality, layers and forms in the concept stage.

The quest of fulfilling “timeless elegance”, “easy maintenance” and “cost effectiveness” in a circulation space challenged us to turn away from the popular approach of creating narrative and character in a commercial space, perhaps a design habit nurtured by the contemporary fast consumption and social media culture. In this exercise, Lukstudio returns to the basics of architecture, embracing “less is more” to pursue order and balance.

The public areas are distributed near the atrium and the northwest corner of each floor where the washrooms are located. The walls from LG to L2 are lined of vertically arrayed limestones stratified into 3 bands. The texture change between reeded and flat panels is highlighted by brass plate details.

At the waiting nook, Lukstudio originally proposed a tea-house inspired wooden pavilion to complement the streamlined cave. We imagined this delicate spot would be treasured by those who needs a pause from the stimulating shopping or working environment.

After the mock-up phase, a more minimal approach was requested. The final design continues with the homogenous stone backdrop with dancing reeded tiles.

The overall soothing ambience is achieved with curvilinear details seamlessly integrating the functional items such as doors, handles, signage and advertisement screens. Cove lighting at the ceiling is also softened by the rounded edge construction.

To better reflect the retail mix of L3-L4 focusing on kids, sports and electronics, a more dynamic and playful cave is envisioned as a surprise. Darker wood veneered wall echoes the effects of limestone, then hidden within a white futuristic cave made of Glass Reinforced Gypsum (GRG) is dotted with potholes of mirrored stainless steel. Super-sized pebble benches of different finishes serve as sculptural seating.

In the washroom, organic forms are as sculptural as they are functional. The washbasins are conceived as stone pillars stacked by interlocking layers and interspersed with brass components. The intricate central piece has integrated mirrors, decorative light fixtures, waste bins, paper towel holders, hangers as well as small planters. Replacing traditional baffles in male washroom, an undulated wall carves out just enough visual separation between the urinals. The gentle experience is finessed with thoughtful phone-holders spanning from a transitional brass strip.

“Though we tend to believe, in architecture as in literature, that an important work should be complicated, many appealing buildings are surprisingly simple, even repetitive in their designs.”– Alain de Botton, The Architecture of Happiness

For a period of 3 years, Lukstudio has honed a skillset working with many parties to refine humble spaces in an ever-changing commercial environment. We believe that simple user-centric spaces bring small pleasure in the everyday. We hope our endless efforts would last in the physical world and serve the public realm.

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