Jia Rui International Plaza, Shanghai - China [Competition 2007, 1st Price]

The main idea is to design an interior for the tower that reflects the expected usage but also plays with the idea of reflection of images and light in order to amplify the perception of the lobby. The interior is then transformed into a kaleidoscope of events, a lively building that portrays the exuberance of its users.
The core is conceived by a curtain wall made up of highly reflecting lamellas, so that they minimize and blend with their environment. The mirroring effect enlarges the space, blurring the boundaries between inside and outside.
By zoning the open spaces and wrapping them gently with the lamella structure, the spaces are separate and yet make up a whole. The usage of the zones is intended to be flexible and multifunctional, and they can be used as event spaces by an external public.
The furniture is loosely arranged throughout the space and conceived as “floating furniture” for flexibility. Retail spaces for a bank are allocated on the ground floor and on the gallery, creating an elevated “bracket” in the north of the lobby space. The elevated gallery becomes an intermediate space for business negotiations, offering multiple views into the lobby area.
The office space used by the bank retains a flexible partition system to allow for future changes of the room sizes.

Architect: M. Stankovic + T. Jortzick [Marina Stankovic Architekten BDA]