Location: Hefei, China

Located to the North of the City Centre, the Hefei project provides a key retail destination for this area with provisions for customers arriving by bus, metro and private car. Combining the IKEA store with around 12,000sqm of mixed-use retail space, the development offers a wide variety of fashion, other retail and F&B Tenants. The public-facing facades to the East and South address the main roads and offer a vibrant, sophisticated and Scandinavian inspired presence. Addressing the intersection, the main entrance is celebrated with a beautiful glowing white glazed box, utilizing a double-height space for the corner tenant, the glowing box also allows through its semi-transparency subtle references to the vibrant internal spaces. Combining the well know IKEA blue façade with subtle coloured layers of vertical fins to the mixed-use space, customers are led toward the main project entrance in the East. The secondary South entrance is also emphasized by a smaller glowing box, which visually leads to the sunken plaza with the entrance at B1 level. Louver façade with subtle gradient colour changes wraps around the whole building providing a visual transition from IKEA store to mixed-use part. The meeting place is planned with entrances to the East and South, both leading customers into a central atrium which allows physical and visual connection across all commercial floors from B1 to L2. The central atrium, strongly visible from the external is designed around the concept of the ‘Vertical Market’ and serves to provide an energetic, vibrant and colourful hub which addresses the main road intersection whilst connecting and bringing together all parts of the project.