Prince Plaza
Architect: OMA
Location: Shenzhen, China
Type: Office
Year: 2020
Photographs: Kris Provoost
The following description is courtesy of the architects. Shekou is defined by a mixed landscape. Mountains and sea, an industrial fabric from the early economic reform era, and recent skyscrapers form a dynamic context. Prince Plaza is located in Shekou’s Sea World district—a unique coastal zone in Shenzhen backed by the Nanshan Mountains and facing the Shenzhen Bay, abundant in public outdoor spaces. The 200-metre mixed-use podium tower at once connects with Shekou’s latest commercial developments, its industrial past, and its everlasting natural environment.
The site falls on Shekou’s most prominent view corridor that runs from the mountains to the sea. Prince Plaza takes full advantage of the view corridor without obstructing it. The tower is an ensemble of four bars attached to a central core. Three sky decks—highlighted by a hexagon-patterned facade inspired by hills and waves—are viewing platforms open to vistas of the mountains and the sea. Designed for use by both tenants and public, they add to the collection of the public outdoor spaces in the coastal Sea World district.
The sky decks break down the otherwise monolithic 60,000 m2 tower into four bars of different sizes that respond to architecture of distinctive scales in the surroundings. The two bars on one side are slightly set back to increase the perimeter or each floor plate, allowing more natural light into the office space. The tower’s fluted façade, with extra wide glass panels, enable office tenants to visually connect with the mountains and the sea, while further bringing lightness to the slender vertical bars.
A 40,000 m2 podium mall occupies the full length of the orthogonal site to maximise street level retail frontage. Different than typical enclosed shopping malls, Prince Plaza’s podium mall has a porous façade and a roof terrace—an extension of the existing commercial and recreational offerings of the Sea World district. A prominent opening—marked by a similar façade as the sky decks—is created at the location through which the view corridor runs. Underground levels of the mall are integrated with two metro lines that connect Prince Plaza to the rest of Shenzhen.
Project Details
- Status: Completed
- Client: CMSK (China Merchants Shekou Holdings)
- Location: Shenzhen, China
- Site: 18,985 m2
- GFA: 106,500 m2
- Program: Office: 66,500 m2, Retail: 40,000 m2
- Partner-in-Charge: David Gianotten
- Project Architect: Bauke Albada
- Competition team: Andreas Viglakis, Chee Yuen Choi, Lingxiu Chong, Luke Lu, Xu Yang, Yang Shi with Max Bergman, Helen Chen, Tim Cheung, Vanessa Chik, Jocelyn Chiu, Ikki Kondo, Erick Kristanto, Charles Lai, Anthony Lam, Federico Letizia, Arthas Qian, Jue Qiu, Roberto Requejo, Ricky Suen
- Design team: Ka Tam, Saul Smeding, Vincent McIlduff, Wanyu He, Yin Ho, Yongwon Kwon, Xu Yang with Daan Ooievaar, Jedidiah Lau, Jenny Ni Zhan, Kathleen Cayetano, Luke Lu, Mavis Wong, Paul Feeney, Slobodan Radoman, Thorben Bazlen, Vincent Kersten
- Construction team: Ka Tam, Saul Smeding, Xu Yang, Yongwon Kwon with Christina Kuo, Hafsa Siddique, Joanna Gu, Mark Kanters, Yutian He
Collaborators
- LDI & MEP: Huasen – Li Hongdi, Li Lian, Lian Xianrong, Liu Chong, Tan Lan, Zhong Yubo
- Structure: RBS – Li Shengyong, Zhang Wenhua
- Traffic: SUTPC – Jiang Jie, Shao Yuan
- Commercial: World Union Properties – Ivy, Luo Yu, Zhang Lin
- Façade: ARUP – Jason Paget, Lian Hongbo, Max Wu, Nina You, Robert Wu, Simon Wu
- Interior: Benoy – Arnold Kee, Chris Lohan, Elaine Tao, Kai Chung Ng, Kali Chan, Keith Chau, Peter McCaffery, Sandy Tsui
- Sustainability: Yuezhong – Songbo Shu, Yuanchang Yu
- Landscape: Metrostudio – Ando Kraithera Lolurlert, Antonio Inglese, Lionella Biancon, Valentina Ticino, Zhang Fangfa,
- Metrostation integration: China Railway Tunnel Survey & Design Institute – Hu Jianguo
- Lighting: CD+M – Patrick Yu, Sunny Kang, Ted Ferreira, Tony Pascocello, Patrick Yu
