The renovation of the dining area on the 7th floor of Phase I of Deji Plaza began with a dual response to functional needs and humanistic demands. Beyond meeting the basic functions of dining, socializing, and cultural experiences, the designer perceptively captured the deep-seated yearning of urban dwellers for nature—amidst the high-density urban life, people need a place where they can breathe, linger, and engage in dialogue with nature.
Based on this, the renovation took the ＂publicization of commercial space＂ as its core, transforming the commercial venue into a breathable, lingerable three-dimensional garden. By integrating natural imagery with architectural functions, the designer aimed to create a space that could not only gather people and stimulate consumption but also accommodate rest, social interaction, and spiritual resonance.
Indoor Transposition of the Garden Image
With the vision of ＂bringing nature into the commercial public area,＂ the designer established a giant indoor garden through strategies such as dome restructuring, functional scene-making, and garden-like circulation.
The secondary atrium replaced the conventional flat ceiling with an arched transparent skylight. The steel frame divided the dome with curves resembling plant veins, and sunlight poured through the glass, casting light spots on the ground that moved with time, like naturally growing moss in a greenhouse. The spiral staircase connected the floors with a helical curve, its lines resembling vines clinging to the structure, serving both as a vertical circulation path and a spatial decorative touch. The ceiling light fixtures around the main atrium corridor were designed based on the geometric slices of cobblestones from garden paths, with soft furnishings subtly hinting at natural metaphors. The circulation was not only a physical path but also guided people's perception of the space. Circulation paths were formed amidst the greenery, and as people walked through the swaying tree shadows, their pace unconsciously slowed, allowing them to stroll leisurely and experience the space's whispers.
Architectural Construction of Three-Dimensional Landscape
The design of plant compositions follows an architectural hierarchy logic, weaving spatial rhythm through a dynamic progression of scales and proportions that embody narrative structure. Eight-meter-tall banyan and maple trees served as visual focal points, with their branches stretching to avoid beams and stairs, creating a soft spatial partition. The middle layer of jacaranda and traveler's palm wove a vertical screen with their slender branches, dividing the area while maintaining transparency. At the lower level, the begonias and Philodendron bipinnatifidum were interwoven and dotted the ground, with architecture and landscape complementing each other. The plant community formed a stepped landscape contour with a drop from 20 centimeters to 8 meters. The designer considered both architectural load and viewing requirements, using a combination of real and artificial plants to not only resolve load limitations but also create spatial depth with varying leaf densities. The natural growth logic was thus transformed into spatial order.
Publicized Living Theater
The update of spatial functions focused on the creation of an ＂urban living room,＂ dissolving the commercial atmosphere of traditional shopping malls with a ＂decentralized＂ layout.
The seating arrangement abandoned fixed partitions, with long benches winding around plant clusters, their concave sides softly enclosing the greenery and convex sides extending into open seating areas. The single seats, with their varied shapes and simple lines, each became a functional art sculpture. The service radius of the restaurant was extended to the public area, allowing customers to freely sit under the shade of trees or along the paths with their meals. The scattered arc-shaped lounge chairs in the garden encouraged people to adopt a more relaxed posture for sightseeing, meeting, or daydreaming, with the sound of conversation and rustling leaves blending into a background white noise. As dining, resting, and socializing behaviors freely permeated every corner of the public area, the commercial attributes gradually faded away, replaced by the autonomy and vitality of a street-corner park.
When cups are filled with sunlight filtered through the greenery, and time grows along the veins of leaves, friends raise their glasses and chat amidst the swaying tree shadows. At this moment, what they are enjoying is not only delicious food but also a memorable moment in time. This is perhaps the most poetic interpretation of ＂business for good＂ With ＂coexistence with nature＂ as the backdrop, the designer allowed efficiency to give way to poetry. Thus, the spiritual texture of contemporary commercial space is revealed: it is both a three-dimensional garden that carries community memories and a declaration of the transition from functional facilities to a carrier of public emotions.
The renovation of the dining area on the 7th floor of Phase I of Deji Plaza began with a dual response to functional needs and humanistic demands. Beyond meeting the basic functions of dining, socializing, and cultural experiences, the designer perceptively captured the deep-seated yearning of urban dwellers for nature—amidst the high-density urban life, people need a place where they can breathe, linger, and engage in dialogue with nature.
Based on this, the renovation took the ＂publicization of commercial space＂ as its core, transforming the commercial venue into a breathable, lingerable three-dimensional garden. By integrating natural imagery with architectural functions, the designer aimed to create a space that could not only gather people and stimulate consumption but also accommodate rest, social interaction, and spiritual resonance.
Indoor Transposition of the Garden Image
With the vision of ＂bringing nature into the commercial public area,＂ the designer established a giant indoor garden through strategies such as dome restructuring, functional scene-making, and garden-like circulation.
The secondary atrium replaced the conventional flat ceiling with an arched transparent skylight. The steel frame divided the dome with curves resembling plant veins, and sunlight poured through the glass, casting light spots on the ground that moved with time, like naturally growing moss in a greenhouse. The spiral staircase connected the floors with a helical curve, its lines resembling vines clinging to the structure, serving both as a vertical circulation path and a spatial decorative touch. The ceiling light fixtures around the main atrium corridor were designed based on the geometric slices of cobblestones from garden paths, with soft furnishings subtly hinting at natural metaphors. The circulation was not only a physical path but also guided people's perception of the space. Circulation paths were formed amidst the greenery, and as people walked through the swaying tree shadows, their pace unconsciously slowed, allowing them to stroll leisurely and experience the space's whispers.
Architectural Construction of Three-Dimensional Landscape
The design of plant compositions follows an architectural hierarchy logic, weaving spatial rhythm through a dynamic progression of scales and proportions that embody narrative structure. Eight-meter-tall banyan and maple trees served as visual focal points, with their branches stretching to avoid beams and stairs, creating a soft spatial partition. The middle layer of jacaranda and traveler's palm wove a vertical screen with their slender branches, dividing the area while maintaining transparency. At the lower level, the begonias and Philodendron bipinnatifidum were interwoven and dotted the ground, with architecture and landscape complementing each other. The plant community formed a stepped landscape contour with a drop from 20 centimeters to 8 meters. The designer considered both architectural load and viewing requirements, using a combination of real and artificial plants to not only resolve load limitations but also create spatial depth with varying leaf densities. The natural growth logic was thus transformed into spatial order.
Publicized Living Theater
The update of spatial functions focused on the creation of an ＂urban living room,＂ dissolving the commercial atmosphere of traditional shopping malls with a ＂decentralized＂ layout.
The seating arrangement abandoned fixed partitions, with long benches winding around plant clusters, their concave sides softly enclosing the greenery and convex sides extending into open seating areas. The single seats, with their varied shapes and simple lines, each became a functional art sculpture. The service radius of the restaurant was extended to the public area, allowing customers to freely sit under the shade of trees or along the paths with their meals. The scattered arc-shaped lounge chairs in the garden encouraged people to adopt a more relaxed posture for sightseeing, meeting, or daydreaming, with the sound of conversation and rustling leaves blending into a background white noise. As dining, resting, and socializing behaviors freely permeated every corner of the public area, the commercial attributes gradually faded away, replaced by the autonomy and vitality of a street-corner park.
When cups are filled with sunlight filtered through the greenery, and time grows along the veins of leaves, friends raise their glasses and chat amidst the swaying tree shadows. At this moment, what they are enjoying is not only delicious food but also a memorable moment in time. This is perhaps the most poetic interpretation of ＂business for good＂ With ＂coexistence with nature＂ as the backdrop, the designer allowed efficiency to give way to poetry. Thus, the spiritual texture of contemporary commercial space is revealed: it is both a three-dimensional garden that carries community memories and a declaration of the transition from functional facilities to a carrier of public emotions.
