Sanya Duty-Free City

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The design inspiration comes from the Haitang Bay flower, the symbol of Sanya. From the flower concept comes the overall master plan distribution as well as the organic free form shape of the buildings. The mall is the largest in Hainan, and so is divided into two independent buildings. It is organized around an outdoor central plaza and four indoor atriums, each one having its own feature. It is connected by a free form roof creating a monumental entrance. This roof has been modeled as an organic surface with a rhythm of glass and aluminum panels resembling the Haitang flower and studied for sustainable protection. The main entrance is a big cover spanning more than 50 meters and 35 meters height supported by a row of 6 big steel arches.

Organically shaped, the buildings embrace in the center a fifty-meter public axis that directly connects the site main entrance to the seaside. This axis hosts at its center a round central plaza on different levels, integrated with the landscape and water features. The interior space of the shopping center has been designed using a sequence of thematic inner courts characterized by big central voids with open spaces of more than 30 meters and covered on the top by the glazed free form roof. The main building facade has been designed using full glass structure in order to offer the maximum visibility to the flagship stores. The rest of the facade all over the building is a composition of glass panels for showcases and full aluminum panel. All the ventilations for technical rooms on the facade are hidden behind aluminum perforated panels, using 3 different organic patterns of perforation.