At the beginning of the 21st century it is necessary to address contemporary social needs, desires and emerging economic potentials in order to create a new generation of shopping centers and leisure facilities. Architecture is no longer considered a footnote, but a fundamental means of engaging and extending the experience of the visitor towards new dynamic leisure horizons.
In this way, the entire shopping mall becomes a stage—a veritable vitrine—for public performance. By configuring both external and internal spaces in an innovative and efficient manner, retail complexes can provide synthetic entertainment for a wider public audience. It is a place of celebration, enjoyment and consumption where people can enjoy a variety of atmospheres and activities from shopping to dining, swimming, and living all within a lively social environment. The sustainability and long range success of a new facility depend upon the creation of public spaces which in their functionality and architectural character provide a new identity by integrating the dimensions of commerce, culture with leisure as well as giving them a spatial organization that is able to represent the values of a given society.
2015 International Plaza Design Concept Competition is the first competition themed around “commercial plaza”.It is organized by Architecture and Culture Society of China and Wanda Commercial Planning & Research Institute and co-organized by China Building Centre (CBC) and College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, and presided over by the most eminent architects in the world. The jury consists of leading architects, deans and directors from top architecture schools. The competition invites students and practitioners alike to envision a new generation of shopping plaza and in a larger sense, a new way of living.