Synthesis Design + Architecture were awarded the first place in the invited international design competition for the Shanghai Wuzhou International Plaza, in collaboration with Shenzhen General Institute of Architectural Design and Research and FLVR Studio. Primary intent of the designers of this winning proposal was to unify the various programs, buildings and the parcels into one single and cohesive identity. The proposed development is vibrant and vivid, embodying the energy of Shanghai’s distinct urban environment.

The very form of this unique development was inspired by the flowing ribbons and choreographed movements of Chinese traditional Ribbon dances. The proposal aimed to capture the elegance of the flowing ribbons and to design the structure as a choreographed and synchronized composition of dancing surfaces which are unified, peel apart and are in constant movement, rather than a collage of singular objects.

The actual architecture emerges in space between the dancing objects and surfaces. The project is an articulation of diverse, dynamic bands, which simultaneously wrap the two created podiums, connecting two sites in the form of connective sky bridges and defining a unifying external courtyard, merging the horizontal with the vertical office towers.

The wrapping moves of retail podiums of this 290,000 sqm Office Building and Retail Development aim to articulate two opposing courtyards which further form a single courtyard that starts at ground level – at the pedestrian street, later dipping down to a lower ground level. This architectonic gesture spatially unifies the two sites, both visually – at upper floors and literally – at the ground and lower ground levels.