The mixed-use development North Star is located on the north of the ‘fifth ring’ of Beijing. The project is sandwiched between the leisure park and cultural facilities to the west, designated as a “quiet zone,” and the main thoroughfare to the east, which is designated as a “loud zone.”
Project: North Star Mixed-use Development
Studio Name: Aedas
Location: Beijing, China
Client: Beijing North Star Company Ltd
Completion year: 2010
Gross Area: 161,780 sqm
The northern civic edge relates to the master plan corridor where most retail and commercial functions are planned. The southeast corner of this site is linked to a future train station. The office and residential towers anchor each side of the site, and natural movement is caught between them.
The 100-metre office tower stands on the intersection corner as a landmark while the apartment tower is on the southwest corner, oriented towards the park and southern light. A giant skylight snakes up between the commercial and residential towers that anchor this development, as if it is a dragon dancing through the streets on the day of Chinese New Year celebration, bringing luck and prosperity to people.
The two towers are the ‘rocks’ and can be accessed from the major streets; the retail podium, slightly twisted and deformed, is like water with a canyon-like atrium. Circulation paths inside the mall are designed like streams coming down a mountain, engendering an otherworldly spatial experience. Layered floor plates create terraces and stepped landscapes outside, allowing the visitors to rest and linger so that their experience is not solely confined to consumerism.
About Aedas
Aedas is the world’s only local and global architecture and design practice driven by global sharing of research, local knowledge and international practice. Our 1,200 creative minds with design studios across the globe create world-class design solutions with deep social and cultural understanding of the communities we design for. We create world-class design solutions that are tailored to the needs of cities and communities around the world.
www.aedas.com