Location: Shanghai, China.

Architect: logon.design.

Central Plaza, a 23-floor retail and office building in Shanghai, was completed in 1998 but had become outdated and in need of reactivation. In 2018, it was bought by V Capital, who commissioned logon.design to provide a one-stop design solution package for their Asset Enhancement Initiative (AEI). The package included landscape, facade, lighting, interior, and signage design. The AEI’s goals were to review, upgrade and rebrand the building, enhance user comfort, and match contemporary market trends and needs. The newly designed Central Plaza, which is LEED Gold certified, provides modern office spaces, as well as space for retail, food, and beverage. The front entrance to Central Plaza welcomes visitors with modernized urban space, new signage, and a new plaza lighting concept. The Atrium is a neat and uncluttered transition space, with white aluminum and seamless grey terrazzo flooring. The design concept utilizes white horizontal lines and white glass handrails to emphasize the multiple layers of the space, while the vertical structure is set as background in dark, polished stainless steel and grey aluminum. Natural light falls through the skylight and façade by daytime and is being reflected by the white interiors, while at nighttime the innovative, glare-free indirect lighting system brightly illuminates the space from the inside. Two escalators lead to the second floor, where selected retailers and a SPA are located. The second set of escalators leads to the third floor to a new co-working space, which utilizes the entire floor, including the gallery circumference the Atrium as a flexible workspace. The office tower elevator lobby is accessible straight ahead from the main entrance in the Atrium. Its highlight is the unique perforated light ceiling, featuring glare-free lighting while hiding building equipment like ventilation outlets and sprinklers. The elevator lobby is also connected to the back entrance, which features a lush green plant wall that guides visitors into the building and connects the outside to the inside. The open space around the building has been upgraded to provide a new arrival experience and image. The front entrance plaza is connected to newly added wooden decks on the south and north side of the building, providing outdoor seating for the restaurants on the ground floor. The back entrance is connected to the backyard garden, featuring a plaza surrounded by plants and connected to a gallery open to tenants to host exhibitions, events or meetings.

Photo credit: Yolanda Vom Hagen.