Chongqing, China
Marcial Jesús and Javier González and their team at 100architects have completed a unique architectural intervention of the public realm for a newly built mixed-use development in the city of Chongqing for developers Chongqing Hai Shang Xing Real Estate Co., Ltd., aiming to activate the open-air retail street through visual stimulation.
“Under the Sea” is entirely inspired by the marine world, creating an immersive experience full of fantasy and surprises.
This is the medium scale type of interventions that take place in the public realm of a city, related to the altering of a portion of a neighborhood.
A type of intervention of such magnitude and notoriety that impacts not only the immediate surrounding urban environment, but rather the urban dynamics of a whole neighborhood, becoming an urban landmark and a local attractor of social interactions in a given neighborhood.
Most of the times, this typology combines several intervention tactics such as painted scapes and grounded objects, intervening existing urban settings, almost from the lens of landscape design by creating spaces of opportunity for collective leisure, entertainment, play and joy, catalyzing major social interactions across the neighborhood.
The main objective of this typology is to trigger a massive public interest to the place through a strong visual impact, usually of a permanent nature, encouraging the rise of high public affluence and establishing an urban landmark that can cultivate important human dynamics and boost commercial activity.
Large floor graphics depicting a stream of water, and a series of eye-catching and socially engaging installations themed as an “Undersea World” along the pedestrian area play an important role in the social activation of the space as well as in the stimulation of visitors and users.
As its name reveals, the project depicts a colorful and intricate undersea world, the natural habitat of the Starfish Xingzai (the client’s IP mascot).
The architects make Xingzai embark on an undersea journey where he meets jellyfishes, algae, shells, octopuses, and even a whale.
Designed as an eventful and meandering stream of water, the grey pedestrian street’s floor turns into a colorful painted scape in aquamarine hues, encouraging both, pedestrian circulation along the street to keep discovering as well as taking pauses in the mini pocket plazas where floor games and play equipment provide encapsulated doses of joy and entertainment to kids and adults alike.
Taking advantage of the retail street’s layout in three different levels due to the site’s topography, the project is carefully designed starting on the top level, where subway stations and arrival points are located, following the water stream downhill to the lower levels, as water would physically behave, to smartly use the full potential of the available space, guiding visitors through the middle level of the retail street, finding fun features and deep sea creatures along the pathway, down to the lower level where the stream of water is stagnant revealing the big starfish Xingzai.
All the 3-dimensional sea creatures and other urban furniture and floor games are strategically located concentrically over contrasting bubbles in coral hues, organized in a way that leaves accessible the emergency fire track.
Under the Sea has been thoughtfully developed as a “Play Route,” having into consideration different challenges and levels of difficulty for different age groups in different areas.
A directional stripe on the floor guides visitors from bubble to bubble, unifying them in a coral path that gives shape and order to the play route.
Each of the coral bubbles is a platform hosting specific functions and features that encourage social interactions through leisure and play.
Those programmatic bubbles initially executed as 2D floor graphics for circulation, in certain moments become 3D shapes forming urban furniture, play structures and objects for leisure.
Altogether, the intervention enhances and stimulates the experience of visitors along the newly built pedestrian street, and creates successfully a very colorful and stimulating community hub for the neighbors and visitors.
Project: Under the Sea
Architects: 100architects (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Design Team: Marcial Jesús, Javier González, Mónica Páez, Lara Broglio, Ponyo Zhao, Keith Gong, Cosima Jiang, Michelle Aldora, and Yuntong Liu
Project Management Team: Jenny Fan and Eva Jiang
Manufacturer: Red Kid Recreation Equipment Co., Ltd.
Client: Chongqing Hai Shang Xing Real Estate Co., Ltd.
Photographers: Rex Zou
Videographers: Lalo López
