Fuxing Plaza · Shanghai, China

“We wanted to create a simple but rich space, complimenting the strong linearity of the architecture.”
Founded by Wendy Saunders and Vincent de Graaf and based between Shanghai and Hong Kong, AIM deals with diverse, substantial projects ranging from office spaces to furniture design. Their work for Fuxing Plaza comprises of two parts: the aluminum lobby and the shopping center. Made with recycled material, the lobby embodies futuristic design and responds to the developer’s need for new techniques and material solutions. In result, the architects created clean, white space that encouraged creativity and optimism.

The mall was designed to avoid typical connotations with the shopping center – instead of glass railings, there are closed balustrades that create sculptural voids and deep frames to express the carefully crafted personality of the stores. “Designing a shoppingmall is a strange thing: it is considered a commercial only affair. It implies: not culturally relevant. That is odd, shopping malls seem to be among the highlights of our culture and enjoy a lot of attention from both public and their residents,” say the architects.