PARAGON II

The design brief required the amalgamation of the existing Paragon Shopping Center and the old Promenade shopping center. The old Promenade was to be fully demolished and replaced by a new five-storey / two-basement shopping center to be fully integrated with the existing Paragon at every level. Both externally and internally, the new amalgamated buildings had to read as one shopping center and not as a main building with an adjoined annex. This posed an obvious problem since the new building would be required to correspond to the existing floor to floor height while satisfying the additional specification for a higher ceiling height than the existing shops. The innovative design response involved creative routing of the main M&E supply ducts to free up valuable headroom.

Indeed, pivotal to the success of the final design lay in the seamless merging of the old and new whilst preserving the integrity of the existing Paragon. Playing a key role in this process are the new connection corridors constructed on every floor. Flanked by shops on either side, these internal bridges offer visitors an uninterrupted shopping experience.

Within the new extension, layers of “shopping terraces” are neatly organised around a central atrium, in a clear hierarchical manner. These terraces overlook one another, creating a series of visual corridors from which the various shops and activities can be observed. The selected use of curved floor plates and curved roof profile create an interesting counterpoint to the mostly orthogonal configuration of the complex. Imposing, sky-high columns aligned along these terraces draw the eye continuously upwards ending at the skylight, in a bid to emphasise the verticality and sheer height of the entire atrium space.

Limiting basic colours to pale neutral tones ranging from beiges, greys to whites idealises “clinical chic” while careful doses of subtle colour in the form of tinted feature glass panels lend a certain understated playfulness to the interior space. Clear attempts to accentuate the tactility of material finish exploiting the roughness of flamed granite and the cool, polished quality of glazed windows culminate in an elegant show of minimalism.

Breaking away from standard introverted mall designs with blank external facades, the new Paragon features the idea of two shopfronts- one facing the interior while the other beckons to the pedestrian strolling along the streets outside. Storefront window displays packed in a billboard fashion hint of goings-on within the mall without giving away too much. Glazed skylights and windows, in their great abundance, let in generous streams of daylight, infusing the inner space with an ethereal lightness while extensively lit white-washed floors threaten to “float off” from sheer weightlessness. Designed to match its clientele, the new Paragon exudes glamour with utter simplicity not very different from the swanky labels its stores carry after all.