Vibrant mixed-use developments can regenerate our urban areas. Over the decades, Asian cities have used a high-density mixed-use model where office, hotel and apartment towers sit atop retail podiums. The retail mall and the podium provide efficient indoor pedestrian connections between the towers, whilst the rooftop of the mall provides recreational facilities for the towers. However, some large-scale podium developments are introspective, surrounded by wide roads and lacking porosity, greenery, public space, or connectivity to the rest of the city.
With the demand for more humane working environments has accelerated the new live-work dynamic, driven by the work-from-home trend spurred by Covid-19. Office, hotel and apartment towers are becoming more porous in order to provide more indoor-outdoor, social and recreation spaces.
The mixed-use towers now feature larger communal space for conferencing, gyms, cafes and retail. With the advent of online purchasing, shops will become places for experiencing products, socialising and entertainment. Retail malls will provide more recreational and interactive spaces, creating social and urban centres for our cities. The podiums of retail malls will become highly porous, accommodating the new social requirements and integrating with the surrounding communities they serve.
With the combination of flexible and adaptable porous spaces in mixed-use towers and retail podiums, we will see a new form of high-density mixed-use hubs in our cities. These hubs truly reach out to the city, optimising transportation networks, increasing walkability, and enhancing outdoor recreation at many levels. They would lead a new model of urbanity.
Watch the video to explore the mixed-use developments with our Chairman & Founder, Global Principal Designer Keith Griffiths
