Page 83 - Designing Ways 264

Qingdao Future City -

the Fantastic Jungle

Qingdao, China

LOU architects was commissioned by Vanke to design the
fourth-floor atrium of the newly opened Future City Mall
Cin Qingdao. Located in Qingdao's northern district, Vanke
Future City is a brand-new shopping and leisure destination devoted
to mingling aesthetics, creativity, and social experiences, hoping to
bring fresh vitality to Qingdao’s old town and its surroundings.
The crux of the design challenge was to create an iconic social space,
tempting customers to the mall's upper levels and energising its retail
and dining areas. This led to the concept of an immersive jungle
garden.

Today's consumers value comfort and intimacy in commercial and
public spaces, and cherish nature, outdoors, wellness, and social
interaction above all. Responding to this, the firm decided to integrate
nature and art into an immersive space. Drawing inspiration from the
paintings of Henri Rousseau, CLOU created a vibrant, experientially
unique jungle garden.
Tropical Forest with Monkeys, Henri Rousseau
In the atrium’s central space, the firm chose a two-storey red cube
structure as the focal point, surrounded by a jungle of plants and
water. Reminiscent of the primitive and mysterious scenes in
Rousseau’s paintings, the vibrant colours, light, and shade invoke an
imaginative and dreamlike atmosphere.

CLOU chose bright red as a primary colour to create a striking
visual impression to quickly grab people’s attention. Like the flowers
and animals that populate Rosseau’s mysterious paintings, the firm

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