Faceted 300k Sqm Fuzhou Mall Designed to Be Retail Jewel

A new mall in the southern Chinese city of Fuzhou opened this month, with a design shaped to evoke the facets of a cut gemstone.

The Fuzhou Wusibei Thaihot Plaza was designed by London-based studio Spark Architects to enhance the development’s appeal to shoppers and improve circulation of visitors into the 300,000 square metre building.

The mall was developed by local developer Thaihot and is located on WuSi Boulevard North in the city’s Jinan District.

According to Spark, the structure’s design entwines the plaza, the street and the mall interior into a continuous circulation route that transforms the building into a living entity full of movement and energy.” The 7-storey complex includes 212,600 square metres of above ground space, and 100,890 square metres of the total space is for retail use and another 199,110 square metres are for SOHO use.

The designers describe the faceted exterior of the building as enhancing sightlines into the nearby pedestrian street, which helps draw people into the mall. Also, the undulating tenant facade that results from the facet is said to facilitate interaction between pedestrians and the many shops filling the facility.

Colour shifting aluminium panels on the facade creates an exterior appearance that is constantly changing. While most panels are the building skin, select facets serve key visual functions such as illuminated signage boxes, advertisements, and three LED screens. At night, perforations in the aluminium panels allow light to pass through to create a starry night effect.

All images courtesy of Shu He.