African Design Magazine February 2015 | Page 60

able to accommodate temporary booths, open bars, dining, or even casual relaxation zones. The design for the north plot incorporates office and retail zones positioned at each end of the new park. The park, embraced by architecture, has been imagined as a “programmed void” – an open space that accommodates a variety of discoverable landmarks including leisure and activity zones, seasonally themed gardens, playgrounds, and a large-scale sunken plaza. The park has been designed to be enjoyed physically at multiple levels, and visually from the architecture that overlooks it. Pathways intertwine between the activity areas, inciting movement from zone to zone while serving as a loop between the blocks. With multiple protruding balconies, the two-story retail environments on the north plot allow for unhindered views into the park. They are topped by a low-rise office typology. The seemingly simple yet spatial complex sales gallery is the ideal taster for the upcoming architectural buffet which SPARK will be presenting in Daxing. AD 60 africandesignmagazine.com