New York-based LAGUARDA.LOW ARCHITECTS has announced the completion of KK One, a new 1.1 million square-foot retail complex in Shenzhen. Set at the base of an expansive mixed-use complex encompassing three residential towers, four office towers, and one hotel tower, KK One connects two adjacent land parcels to create a premiere shopping facility in the city’s Futian District.

The exterior swooping facade, composed of aluminum panels in three tones of gray, was designed to create a sense of movement around the dense blocks of high-rise towers. The aluminum skin gives unity to the site’s eight towers and peels back at several points to reveal a minimal glass and steel structure. To give the development a distinctive presence at night, rows of inset, vertical bands of LED lights illuminate the facade.

The interior of the five-story mall is luminous with gently curving forms and a palette of white surfaces and clear glass throughout. Natural light permeates through the clerestory at the top level and four sky-lit atrium spaces. To soften direct light from above, LAGUARDA.LOW designed custom ceiling grids for the two main atrium spaces that filter daylight through five levels and create a dynamic pattern of light and shadow throughout the day.

“With five levels of shopping, food and entertainment and direct access to the subway, KK One was designed to be the center of commerce for this growing urban district,” states John Low, principal of LAGUARDA.LOW.  He continues: “The fluid exterior façade and bright interior spaces create an inspiring destination for shoppers and a tranquil point of refuge from the fast pace of the city.”

The opening of KK One marks LAGUARDA.LOW’s second completed project for KingKey Real Estate Group, following the 2010 completion of KKMall in Shenzhen. The completion of KK One follows LAGUARDA.LOW’s recent announcement for the design of OCT Longhua – an expansive new 3.7 million square-foot mixed-use development in Longhua New District of Shenzhen.