Benoy's Parc Central Wins Gold at ICSC China Awards

The Benoy team receiving the gold award at the China ICSC event

Hong Kong Developer Sun Hung Kai only opened its Parc Central shopping centre in Guangzhou last year, but the 83,000 square metre (900,000 square foot) mall has already been recognised at its fourth award event in its young life.

This latest recognition came from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) which awarded the project with the Gold Award for Design and Development for new developments at the retail industry group’s China awards held in Shanghai earlier this month. Before receiving this top-level recognition, the eco-friendly shopping centre in Tianhe district had previously been recognised by the China Property Awards, A&D Trophy Awards and at the MIPIM Asia Awards.

The ICSC event also gave gold honors for Design and Development for new developments to Value Retail’s Shanghai Village outlet mall in Pudong and Tianjin’s Heping Joy City.

Creating a “Central Park” in Downtown Guangzhou

Developed on the site of a former square, Parc Central was created by global architecture firm Benoy, in partnership with leading Hong Kong designers Ronald Lu and Partners, to provide a “breathing place” within Guangzhou’s crowded city centre.

Benoy, which provided architecture, interior design and master planning for the transit-oriented development, created an amphitheatre-like design for the commercial development which has been described as forming a “stadium for retail.”

As is the case with the iAPM and IFC shopping centres which Benoy designed for Sun Hung Kai in Shanghai, the project along Guangzhou’s Tianhe Road connects directly to the city’s metro system system underground, and above ground is linked to neighboring developments by elevated walkways.

At the heart of the development is a sunken garden with a multi-level retail and dining area that overlooks the greenery of the landscaped area – creating a retail park in Guangzhou’s central business district. To reduce environmental impact, Parc Central incorporates an enhanced rainwater collection system and low-E glass façades, and the development forms part of Tianhe district’s “green axis” which aims to provide an urban lung for the once-famously polluted city.

Benoy Racks Up Another China Win

Parc Central aims to create a “shopping stadium” around a public green space in Guangzhou

The top award for Parc Central marks a return to the winner’s circle for Benoy in China. The UK-based firm also won gold in the Design and Development for New Developments category at the inaugural ICSC China Awards in 2015 for both its Chengdu IFS project and Shanghai’s iAPM mall. In 2016 Benoy took the silver award in the same category for the MixC retail development in Qingdao.

Benoy has developed a portfolio of 28 projects on the mainland including the Gala Avenue Westside in Pudong and Xuhui Vanke Center, a 328,000 square metre commercial development in Shanghai’s Xuhui district. In Beijing, Benoy worked on the Indigo Mall outside Beijing’s 4^th Ring Road and the capital’s 140,000-square-meter Vanke Center.

Launched in 2015 under the ICSC Global Awards, the ICSC Awards in China honour outstanding achievements in the design and development of retail properties and stores. Winners of the ICSC China Awards are entered into the ICSC VIVA Awards, presented during RECon, the global retail real estate convention held in Las Vegas.