SOHO Shangdu

SOHO shangdu is a mixed-use development, completed in 2007, located within beijing's new east cbd development area. in contrast to many adjacent projects lab's design is intended to provide a vibrant and active street frontage supplemented by intimately scaled internal streets and diverse open spaces which create the effect of a vertical hutong. The five levels of retail and roof terraces total 37,000m2 and the main internal spaces facilitate a range of events from fashion parades to concerts and commercial product launches, providing the development with a strong public identity.One low-rise, eight-level tower along dongdaciaolu and two high-rise, 32-level towers are positioned on the podium with separate street entrances and an integrated circulation system that connects them to, and continuously through, the retail spaces. the towers are divided into small offices (200-300m2) and studio units (60-120m2) which follow SOHO china's vertical warehouse space approach.The faceted and folded glass and metal facades of the tower forms are inscribed with a network of large-scale geometric lines following the traditional chinese 'ice-ray' pattern, here re-imagined and applied in a contemporary way. at night the continuous light lines provide a distinctive and unique nocturnal image for the towers and the overall development.