Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport Mixed Development

10 Design releases new plans for a transport-oriented retail destination in Nanjing

Jointly led by Design Partners, Chin Yong Ng and Lukasz Wawrzenczyk, the design team has released new plans for one of the largest transport-oriented retail landmarks in Nanjing.

10 Design won an international design competition to transform China Fortune’s 243,768sqm site into a contemporary mixed-use project in 2020. Recently, the Nanjing Planning Bureau granted planning consent for the project, which is part of the wider redevelopment of the historic Nanjing Dajiaochang military airbase in China.

The scheme envisions the integration of retail while preserving the 2.6km airport runway which has been kept in its original form as a historic feature. The runway will be reimagined as a multifunctional cultural boulevard that doubles as a green pedestrian axis. The development involves three interconnecting buildings, incorporating a shopping mall, retail, cultural and office spaces along with a boutique hotel.

With two underground railway stations embedded into the site, connectivity is one of the key design drivers. The design includes a central glass box corridor with key entrances positioned directly on top of one of the railway tracks, providing a feature passageway for commuters to navigate through different levels of the scheme.

All three buildings are connected via an underground retail spine and street-level pedestrian walkways: the pedestrian bridges provide further connectivity between the two shopping malls.

The underground ‘retail spine’ is designed to become an attractive destination. A series of sunken plazas extend out to the street level, punctuating the ground level and bringing natural light into the subterranean areas. The basement retail area is an impressive double height space of up to 9m – a unique underground space with natural light that would normally only be achieved at ground level.

This scheme is an evolution in design of transport-oriented developments to create a high-quality retail environment that fully integrates with the rail network and the extensive public realm.

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