Community Center of Baishadao Financial Town / URBANUS

Located in a new financial town in the suburb of Shenyang, this planned 5,000 square meters community center belongs to a commercial plot that will house 50,000 square meters of future development. Our program research discovered two disadvantages: 1. this newly developing area does not have sufficient population to support large quantities of retails; 2. It is very questionable how to make a typical shopping center competitive. After a discussion with the client, we both agreed that this commercial center should be something special. Thus came the idea of using a botanic garden to energize the space. The client was very much excited about the proposal and commissioned URBANUS to design the entire 50,000 square meters project, rather than a singular community center. After analyzing various potential commercial models in this area, an innovative layout appeared: a greenhouse was employed as the center of all programs to attract visitors and start-up businesses.