The International Architecture Awards 2014

Challenge: Phoenix Publishing and Media Group (PPMG), one of the largest media and publishing companies in China, invited JSA to participate in limited competition to design the Kunshan Phoenix Cultural Mall—a 90,000 sqm corporate headquarters and cultural complex to be built in Kunshan, one hour west of Shanghai. Our first-place winning scheme now in construction responds to the challenges posed by the client’s brief: the creation of a sustainable pedestrian-friendly mixed-use building type—a “Cultural Mall” that allows culture and commerce, shoppers, creative artists and office workers, to mix in ways that enhance both Phoenix’s corporate identity and Kunshan’s public realm.

New Building Type: Our project melds two generic building types-the mall and the cultural building-to create a unique hybrid, the “Cultural Mall.” Our project consists of a 20-story office tower perched upon a five-story podium organized around four 'cultural cores' that respectively house theaters, exhibition halls, a fitness club and an education center. A retail loop, comprised of affiliated stores, restaurants and cafes, spirals around each cultural core, allowing culture and commerce to mix. The pinnacle of each Culture Core intersects the Book Mart and pierces the green roof forming three pavilions—a kunsthalle, amphitheater, and spa.

Urbane: Our pedestrian-friendly scheme subdivides the superblock site into four humanly scaled quadrants housing four mini-malls, crossed by two pedestrian corridors, and crowned by the Book Mart that visually and symbolically unifies the site.

Corporate/Civic Identity: The roof of the elevated Book Mart serves as a base for the PPMG office tower as well as a public space activated by cultural and recreational amenities that encourage workers in the tower to mix with the general public.

Environmental: The slab’s elongated facades which maximize favorable southern and northern light are clad with a striking pattern of diagonal louvers that provide solar shading and mark the tower as a visual icon on the city skyline.


Credits:

Location: Kunshan, China

Program: Cultural, Commercial & Office

Size: 94,000 square meters (1,000,000 square feet)

Date: 2013-2016 (anticipated completion)

Design Team: Joel Sanders Architect with FreelandBuck

Consultants: ARUP (Structural Engineering, Building Systems Engineering, Sustainability), Heintges & Associates (Facades)

Client: Phoenix Publishing & Media Group

Awards: 1st Prize in International Competition