Atria Shopping Gallery

Atria is a neighbourhood shopping mall located in a matured residential area with an increasing elderly population that consists of mostly semi-retired and retired customers. Hence, its design was focused on ensuring the comfort of end users, such as a common corridor that is not less than three metres in width. All mall entrances had been strategically designed with an open and unobstructed view for more interaction with the outdoors.

The overall vision was to incorporate the beauty, warmth and majesty of nature into a stimulating and high-energy retail space. The essential principle was to have a continuous integration and celebration of art and to create a warm and comfortable shopping ambience throughout the entire mall. The client requested for a minimum of 4.4-metre ceiling height in common areas, which was achieved by bringing in all the air- conditioning ducting within the shops to comply with this requirement.

As the shape of the shopping mall is elongated with straight-line shop fronts, the design team collaborated closely with the architect to rearrange the tenant lease line in a dynamic way to optimise the exposure of shop front sightlines and attract customers to the mall. They also modified the typical rectangular voids into an organic inverted pyramid to achieve a better sightline of tenant shops from the lower levels.

The original structure of the mall’s main entrance was a single volume void. Two shop lots above were removed to create a double-volume visual impact, hence creating a grand and inviting entrance. The double-height sculptural ceiling near the entrance blends seamlessly with the interior and exterior, whilst the light bridge allows customers to experience the dynamics, volume and energy of this space. An existing concrete walkway was enhanced with metal structures and ambient lighting to complement the grandeur and lightness of the bridge. The escalators were repositioned to generate shopping flow and avoid dead spaces. The food hub Asian Avenue created a melting pot of culture and cuisine with a design that was inspired by traditional oriental elements.

The interior design team chose a mixture of local and imported materials to fulfil specific requirements and achieve design intention. The columns are prominent vertical elements that go up to three or four storeys high, with a 5.5-metre floor-to-floor height for each level. They were transformed into ‘tree trunks’, which was derived from the Forest in the City concept, with a Japan-made timber-patterned PVC film. Other design aspects—such as the Creeper and Stream feature ceilings—were modified using locally made suspended metal plates, which helped to reduce the load of the building and fulfil the fire safety compliance requirement set by local authorities.