Chongqing Luneng City Phase III Major Project Will Transform Major City

The Challenge

The project covers three city blocks in the heart of Chongqing, a major city in southwest China, famous for its hilly landscape and the Yangtze River.

The HKS design team faced the challenge of designing a 410,000-square-meter (4,413,200-square-foot), mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) above two subway lines and one bus terminal on a topographic elevation that has about a 27-meter (89-foot) difference from the West to the East.

This project features a 5-star St. Regis Hotel, 5A premium office building, a shopping mall, retail streets and apartment buildings. The HKS design team will have to create a dynamic retail diagram to integrate all the different functions to include a smart resolution for an extremely complicated traffic flow.

The Design Solution

The HKS design concept called for the creation of an exciting and breathtaking shopping route from West to East to connect both the interior and exterior of this project.

Each city block will be designed with a four- or five-story podium, with the lower level consisting of an indoor shopping mall, while the upper level has an open retail walking space that connects all the blocks. The design will include a stunning 150-meter (500-foot) tall tower on Lot 1 to the West, with the St. Regis Hotel at the top. Lots 2 and Lot 3 will have four beautifully-designed, 100-meter (300-foot) SOHO office buildings. The project features a contemporary exterior facade, while Lot 3 will embrace the style of a typical Sichuan small town that reflects the traditional local Chinese culture.

Because the terrain of the project site is complicated with a total length of about 520-meters (1,700-feet) and a height difference of about 27-meters (89-feet) at its maximum — a ratio that created plenty of challenges — the HKS design team decided to utilize a setback space and landscape to solve the height difference issue and form a multi first-level elevation system.

The Design Impact

Chongqing Luneng City is one of the most important commercial mixed-use projects for the Luneng Group, as this project will bring excitement and dynamism to the Chongqing Liangjiang District.

HKS designers used an ingenious and creative mall and block building complex method, with rich forms and brands to create a diverse, exciting and high-quality consumer experience for the city. The result is a blended form of innovation, modernization, fashion, humanities, arts, and a brand-new lifestyle experience.