Shenzhen UpperHills South Plaza

Located between the public green belt along Lianke 1st Road and the iconic towers of Shenzhen UpperHills, South Plaza is visually and functionally, a central anchor to the area. Additionally, “Shang-ma”(a heritage sculpture featuring a man jumping up to the back of a strong horse) was given to the site, making the plaza a linkage between past and the present. As a host standing in front, South Plaza was always presented to those who start drawing their first footprint onto UpperHills, regardless the transportation tools and the purposes: A walking man could easily recognize the sculpture ‘Shang-ma’ on the way to his office in T1, whist a car heading towards the plaza was just about to park in front of the mall... Those who converge here are, in a way, turning the scenes as if the plaza was rotating by herself. Gentle waves of grass, shades of leaves and sparkles of water... those elements are smoothly interwoven, shaping a sculptural space, in which the surrounding topographies are reflectively condensed in thus matrix which answers back to her environment——a city growing with its nature. More | Less It becomes complicated and almost seems impossible, when one tries to define the site: it is the extension of public interface to the city, a show-window of companies to the office towers and, a relaxing backyard garden to the shopping-mall... All of these identical figures are condensed here along with the flows and circulations. Such complexity caused the South Plaza, the smallest, yet the last piece to be constructed, among the whole area of Shenzhen UpperHills development. To the fact that the plaza contains the mentioned identities and, a lot more comparing to the actual occupation of the land area, the design team of ZDS strategically did something ‘less’, trying to find a common element and figure to complement those ‘more’. Gentle | Sharp Softness and hardness sings together with the contrast and complementary on shapes and materials: curvy metal curbs softly hold grass with a sharp finishing line, representing the mountains around; water gently covers up the stone, reflecting the modern glass facade of the towers. Those elements simultaneously interweave and synthesize a coherent roll of frames that is natural yet modern, soft yet sharp to a point. Light | Shade After all the materials were curved in position, the light started answering back: Shades of leaves are brought down to the skin of grass, expanding to touch the edge of water. Waves of land flow around, guiding those who tend to find their way. The sculpture, calls back the focus by standing vertically in the center, turning the time as a sundial. “Shang-ma”, the sculpture created by Chinese sculpture artist Liang Mingcheng, was famous by his realisticism taste and heritage value to the city. And when it’s at nightfall, sharpness of the metal fringes turns into sparkling light beads along. We specifically selected warm lights for hills and chill color to the water-mirror, as if temperatures of such textures could be felt and touched. In a way, we want to construct another light-scape to the plaza. Despite the scale of the project, challenges and surprises came along with quite a few changes and modification. The completion of construction is, by giving our highest respect and gratitude, the contribution of all members of relevance. Project Information