Interior Design: Future City Shopping Centre, Qingdao, China

The architectural firm CLOU Architects admits to having been inspired by the art of the French painter Henri Rousseau for the design of the fourth-floor atrium of the Future City Mall in Qingdao. Located in the northern district of the eastern Chinese port city on the shores of the Yellow Sea, the mall is a new leisure destination combining “aesthetics, creativity and social experiences”. The major Chinese developer Vanke, owner of the Future City Mall, asked CLOU Architects to design an iconic space that would “tempt customers to the upper levels of the mall, energizing its retail and dining areas”.

In response to this brief, CLOU Architects set out to, in their own words, “integrate nature and art into an immersive space, (…) a vibrant, experientially unique jungle garden“. Indeed, it is surprising that the combination of colours, both those that envelop the architectural elements of the design and those produced by the tropical vegetation which is given a determining role, evoke at least vaguely the scenes painted by Rousseau and also his characteristic naïve style. That blood red in combination with the deep green of the palms and trees with which it blends so well, achieves this. Again, in the words of its architects, the design of the Future City Mall atrium immerses us in “the primitive and mysterious scenes in Rousseau’s paintings: the vibrant colours, light and shade, invokes an imaginative and dreamlike atmosphere“.

On the other hand, and for the part of the public for whom the atrium is intended, CLOU Architects says that they used that bright red as the main colour of the design “to create a striking visual impression, which will quickly grab people’s attention“. Therefore, the two-storey red cubic structure in the centre of the atrium, thanks to its dimensions and enigmatic design, has an alluring effect on visitors. At the same time, the circular bridge and the stairs connecting it to the surrounding shopping areas produce the means and invite visitors to stroll and explore. Therefore, the ensemble “provides its visitors a place where their imagination can roam freely”. As we say, from our point of view, they succeed. Bravo!