Formwerkz Architects

Building 12 Qplex

Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development

BUILDING 12 QPLEX

Formwerkz Architects + Surbana Jurong

CLIENT
Yun Tai Development, Yun Tai Development

LOCAL SUBMISSION ARCHITECTS
Aube Conception

ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS
Aube Conception

PHOTOGRAPHS
Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Lee Cheng Wee

INTERIOR CONSULTANT
J&a Consultants Srl

AREA
20000 m²

LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS
Shenzhen Techand Ecology & Environment, Shenzhen Zhonglv Environment Group

DESIGN TEAM
Chen Kexun, Wang Hu, Ron Savio Buenaseda Chua, Chong Weirong, Simon Chiang, Zhang Jin

LOCATION
Shenzhen, China

CATEGORY
Public Space, Retail

YEAR
2019

Text description provided by architect.

Building12 is a standalone retail mall nestled in the heart of the massive Qplex commercial development in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development
Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development

Encircled by a ring of eleven residential, hotel and towers, Building12 is the natural philosophical center and pulse of the entire development.

The design intent places a heavy emphasis on establishing Building12 as a communal center, not just for the Qplex development but also for the number of residential communities around it

Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development
Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development

To do that, Building12 needs to be more than just another shopping mall. The design process began with the task of reimagining a commercially focused building typology into one that is also community driven.

The idea of a public park serves as the starting premise because of its natural platform as a community node.

Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development
Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development

A park also offers an opportunity to project a powerful visual image on an urban scale, while simultaneously encouraging users to discover their individual and unique relationships with it.

Activity spaces are weaved into the development across multiple levels. Public plazas and roof gardens are carefully curated based on environmental conditions, spatial qualities and locations to maximize realistic usability.

Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development
Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development

Timbered and turfed roofs blend into one another, creating multiple entries into the mall across various “ground levels”. This allows Building12 to become a rich canvas of overlapping thresholds where the mall IS the park and the park IS the mall.

With the accelerated pace of architecture projects today, it’s easy to be pulled into the rabbit hole of statistics, efficiencies and a two-dimensional pursuit of energy sustainability as the single solution for architectural design. This often results in a diminished emphasis on human and social sustainability issues.

Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development
Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development

The design of Building12 maintains a deep regard for the user community at its core, giving it a higher chance of successfully generating functional longevity and adaptability over its lifetime.

Compared to a typical shopping mall, Building12 is seeing a bigger diversity of users, spending greater amounts of time and engaging in a wider range of activities.

It is the hope that Building 12 will be able to weave contending commercial and communal concerns together in a mutually enabling and socially sustainable environment.

Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development
Building 12 Qplex
© Formwerkz Architects, Surbana Jurong, Yun Tai Development


Building 12 Qplex
Rear Elevation
Building 12 Qplex
Front Elevation


Building 12 Qplex
Perspective

Formwerkz Architects
T +65 6440 0551
Formwerkz Architects
200 Turf Club Rd, #07-01, 287994, Singapore