Shunde OCT Harbour Plus

Shunde OCT Harbour PLUS is a new generation of cultural tourism development created by OCT Group. The vibrant mixed-use development planned and designed by Laguarda. Low Architects was fully opened at the end of 2020, adding an open, multi-functional resort living destination and entertainment venue to Shunde District in Southern China. Shunde is a historical district known for its waterway network and profound Lingnan culture. The new mixed-use development is located on both sides of a lake, connecting to the water system in the city. On the south bank of the lake is the Playa Maya Water Park and Happy Time theme park. On the north bank, Laguarda. Low was tasked with creating the overall master plan and the main architectural commercial area of the project. Additionally, LLA also coordinated with Landscape Architect Martha Schwartz Partners and HHDesign (Architectural design of the village) to set a grand vision for an entertainment, culinary, shopping, cultural and hospitality urban village. The main goal of this project is creating a place to provide different kinds of entertainment and lifestyle for the residents from Shunde and around the areas. There are four service apartment/hotel towers on the property, a five-level mall, a winding water restaurant village set upon the waterfront. The site is accessed from Huanle Boulevard at the north of the development, and is adjacent to the Fengsha Subway Station which is currently under construction. Shunde OCT Harbour PLUS is located fifteen minutes east of the central Shunde district on Huanle Boulevard. It is a leisure and commercial destination on a lake shore, which integrates dining, entertainment, shopping, lodging, sightseeing, and performances. "Resort village lifestyle" is the key word for the concept of this project, which means providing a human scale comfortable neighborhood with respect to the vernacular language of Shunde. The central lake is treated as a main feature and focal point. The main street access is at the north of the site. Huanle Boulevard winds its way on the northern boundary of the site. There are two gateway paths at the east and west of the mall building that each leads to the waterfront. The project has a gradation from the grand scale of the mall and the retail podium of the high-rise service apartments/hotels shifting to the smaller village scale. This gradation occurs via a contemporary architecture to vernacular and mixture of contemporary village sized buildings. People are able to go through variety of experiences throughout the project as the scales shift. The three major pedestrian circulation elements along this gradation are the shopping or high street conveyed by an indoor mall. The second major circulation artery is the creative culture street which is supported by culture venues. The third circulation passage is the winding water street which is lined with food and beverage tenants. The shopping mall massing is carefully broken down into smaller scale elements on its southern facades. This allows it to be integrated with the many other village buildings. This creates a seamless connection from the village to the shopping mall street experience. The mall is meant to embrace the natural landscape into its executed interior design. There are many spaces that people feel outdoors even though they are inside the mall. The natural light, vibrant interior landscape, interior watercourse, and views to the exterior provide visual connection to the internal waterways of the village which lead to the lake. The roof top of the mall is designed as a green roof garden. This project has 4 service apartment/hotel towers. These towers bookend the east and western perimeter of the main village. The towers are the anchor elements for the leisure visitors to this development. Given the famous Shunde food culture and history, OCT has added an International Food Culture Exchange Center at the tower podium which provides a great platform for chefs around the world to explore the culinary art and host food tasting activities. Also, other than the art and sculptures displayed inside the public space of the mall, there is an art museum at the tower podium which brings even more cultural elements to the project. Together with the happy time theme park and Playa Maya Water Park to the south, this project will be the hub of entertainment and the model case of green commercial project in the Shunde district. Playing off the theme of the reuse of local brick finish from the original surrounding village buildings the facades of the mall utilized tiles, metal panels and concrete panels that are very environmental friendly, they were selected to give the very large mall building a human scale. These scale shifts are seen in the landscape and the village and the retail podiums. More intimate spaces are created around the water elements and large-scale elements occur at the main entrances. Nature is woven through the grand palm boulevard of the main north facades of the mall and tower podiums. Water and canopy elements help to define passages that lead through the village to the main waterway where restaurants, entertainment and the theme park are the great escape. The shores of the lake are a serene destination. The villas to the northwest of the lake are part of the development. These villas are within the OCT jacaranda bay residential area. The landscape is one of the most important elements of this project. It adds value to the overall space. The selected trees and plant life create shading and control the heat being absorbed in ground surface. The roof garden provides an ecologically sustainable system, with green and a recycling rainwater system.