MixC Shenzhen is a premium lifestyle and shopping destination in Southern China, and it’s the original shopping centre for the MixC brand. We’ve completed a series of refurbishments as part of a major regeneration programme for the iconic mall, embracing water as a driving theme to renew and unify the spaces.
MixC Shenzhen is a major shopping destination in Southern China with over 260 shops and 500 brands. Open since 2004, it was the first MixC to launch and remains one of the only shopping centres in Shenzhen to host top-tier luxury brands. As part of a wider sweep of regenerative changes, we’ve worked with the client, China Resources Land, to improve the customer journey and refresh the identity of MixC Shenzhen. We’ve reconfigured the layout, refurbished various interiors, and strengthened connections between the mall and surrounding streets.
Our design concept is inspired by the site’s location on the Pearl River Delta – an historic nexus for trade – and the Chinese axiom ‘Where water flows, a canal will form’. The theme of water unifies our refurbishments, with streams, cascades and currents informing the design language of each zone. The stream motif flows through the North Arcade, with gentle, subtle detailing; the cascade motif defines the Boutique Gallery, using strong geometric patterns and bold materials; and the currents motif characterises the Lower Gallery, with smooth, continuous changes in scale that emphasise the generosity of the open space.
While each of these spaces has its own identity, they’re all united by luxurious materials and flowing feature ceilings and floors that encourage intuitive movement through the mall. Together the elegant materials and harmonious theme strengthen MixC’s brand identity.
Griffen Lim, designer at Make, said: “Any contemporary refurbishment work in the original MixC needs to reflect the enduring grandeur of the brand. Our new interiors facilitate a luxurious shopping experience and celebrate the prestige of this landmark retail centre. The careful insertion of new infrastructure brings clarity to the customer journey and defines new routes into and through the building. New shopfronts throughout the mall and the two new entrances enhance MixC's civic presence in Shenzhen.”
The original layout had large, street-facing stores that didn’t connect through to the internal mall – limiting access both from and into MixC from the north and south. To improve circulation, we reconfigured the stores to make them all accessible from inside the mall and consolidated the entrance lobbies on each corner. Our new north-west and south-west entrances complement the existing north-east and south-east ones, anchoring the shopping centre with a prominent entrance on each corner.
The creation of the north-west entrance hall is one of our key design moves, giving MixC a more welcoming presence in the streetscape and improving the efficiency of the layout. The new entrance simultaneously open up new routes that enhance circulation; creates clear pathways to the central atrium and all the arcades across the mall; makes space for extra retailers; facilitates logical wayfinding; and optimises visibility for every store.
The entrance lobbies are filled with natural light, with triple-height glazing in the north-west entrance. The lobbies maximise visual connectivity on arrival and maintain sightlines to multiple levels of the mall, encouraging people to explore the full extent of the shopping centre. We designed the entrances to be flexible, allowing opportunities for concierge services, brand collaborations and pop-ups to be integrated after completion, and to connect with future phases of MixC’s overall regeneration programme.
For the North Arcade, we referenced the motif of a flowing stream through materials and subtle detailing to establish intuitive navigation. The expansive triple-height entrance lobby draws people through its doors, up the fluted metal-clad escalators and into the mall. A striking water droplet-inspired pendant artwork by German abstract artist Anselm Reyle is suspended in the escalator hall, acting as a visual marker in the entrance and helping visitors navigate the upper levels of the mall.
Designed to feel more like a hotel than a shopping centre, the arcade feature vertical fluted stone on the escalator pillars and wall panels. We also used ‘Star white’ marble to create a contemporary herringbone floor with an understated directional pattern. We sourced local, natural stone and paired it with planting and subtle lighting to reinforce the hospitality feel throughout.
A key design feature is the fluted glass-reinforced gypsum (GRG) ceiling. Our Sydney team completed a series of parametric studies to achieve the minimalist stream-like pattern, which was then constructed in modules to produce an elegant finish. Free from hard corners and edges, the ceiling design gently encourages people through the space.
The Boutique Gallery is MixC’s new home for global luxury fashion brands. Set over three floors in what was previously a single department store, the entire gallery is visible from the reconfigured entrance hall, which now connects through to the central atrium. We rearranged the escalators and introduced new voids to optimise views to the double and triple-height shopfronts. Inspired by cascading water, we integrated bold floor designs that emphasise grandeur and scale while maintaining harmony with the larger mall.
On levels 1 and 2, a statement chevron floor gives the Boutique Gallery a unique identity within the overall precinct. We designed the floor to elevate the luxury feel of the gallery, using locally sourced, natural marble – Italian grey, Calacatta white and Snowflake white. We contrasted the floor with a simplified GRG ceiling that mimics the smooth pathways created by cascading water, while soft, curved corners on the soffits accentuate the ceiling height and hint to the levels above.
On level 3 a large, flexible space for pop-ups and F&B creates a new destination for shoppers, inviting people to the upper levels and providing opportunities to linger. As a dedicated hall for luxury brands, combined with the pop-up offer, level 3 is spatially unique within the wider Boutique Gallery. To break down the scale of the hall, we designed a distinct diamond-patterned ceiling with curved corner details that echo the lower levels. We also continued the materiality of the chevron floor on levels 1 and 2, but modified the pattern to mirror the diamond shapes in the ceiling.