The tower
The tower is Park Avenue Central’s defining feature. It’s also a next generation commercial building that’s setting a high bar for sustainability, environmental efficiency and the integration of technology.
The building’s three-storey lobby incorporates a dramatic, triple-height LED screen that makes it clear straight away that this a building designed for a fast-changing future. The screen provides the landscape for a changing program of digital art, visible from inside and outside the tower.
Other state-of-art tech features include a facial recognition system integrated with the tower’s lifts, intelligent lighting and real-time, data-based building management systems for optimal performance. A custom-designed app personalises the tenant experience.
The tower’s open-plan floorplates have column-free corners so they remain extra-efficient and adaptable to the changing needs of single or multiple tenants on each floor. And the high-performance, floor-to-ceiling glazing brings in plenty of natural light and expansive views.
The jewel in the tower’s crown is a two-storey penthouse office with an exclusive terrace and breathtaking views across Shanghai – the prime position in a development poised to attract some of the city’s most prized tenants and employees.
Brick is the common façade language throughout Park Avenue Central.
The tower’s façade utilises interpreted bricks, and the urban edge also utilises the pattern but on a civic scale, while the retail facades on The Street of Light utilise more granular brickwork.
Public spaces
The development offers an unprecedented indoor/outdoor retail experience – a transitional space where urban character gradually dissolves into immersive nature.
Our retail and F&B component is defined by two main streets – distinct but complementary in character.
The High Street is lined with large-scale stores located over four storeys. This fronts the ‘urban edge’ of the development and acts as one of the gateways into the precinct from the bustling city.
At the other end of the site is The Street of Light. This ‘soft edge’ facing the nearby residential area contains smaller scale, one- and two-storey shops.
Cascading terraces and pavilions, greenery and transitional lights frame this area’s boutique, outdoor retail, while glowing bridges and stairs that resemble lanterns heighten the atmosphere. Sophisticated and intimate, it feels like an undiscovered part of the city.
Just a short distance from the Street of Light there’s a secluded, peaceful natural oasis – more than 9,000sqm (96,000 sqft) of lush landscape with locally-sourced plants, forming a secret garden that draws in workers and visitors.
Community
The idea of ‘giving back’ to the people within Park Avenue Central and in the surrounding community was one of the foundations of our design process.
The tower’s ground-level public spaces are specially designed for hosting all kinds of events and activities, all year round. This gives building tenants, visitors and locals reasons to gather and enjoy this new Shanghai destination – and return again and again.
Public art artworks dotted throughout the site add to the list of attractions.
Sustainability
We designed the tower not just to efficiently house businesses and their people – but to look after their daily wellbeing too.
Health and wellbeing features include abundant natural light, an integrated air purification system and fresh air exchange. In addition, the site’s abundant landscaping acts as a stormwater sponge while solar panels reduce the tower’s overall footprint.
We also incorporated exceptional end-of-trip facilities, making this one of the first commercial buildings in China to offer hospitality-level amenities that encourage people to ride, walk or run to work.
Along with the tower’s intelligent lighting and energy conservation systems, these design elements are set to help Park Avenue Central secure its sustainability rating targets:
- WELL Gold
- BCA Green Mark Platinum
- China Green Building 2 Star and
- LEED Platinum ratings