Discover, Shop, and Play: Your Ultimate Leisure Adventure Awaits in Tongzhou’s New Mall!

Project: Well Town and NOUS Land
Location: Beijing, PRC
Client: Beijing Huanhui Real Estate Co., Ltd.
Design and Project Architect: Aedas
Gross Floor Area: 302,000 sq m
Completion Year: 2025
Design Directors: Christine Lam and David Clayton, Global Design Principals

From a traditional depot to a modern urban landmark situated at a stone’s throw from Universal Beijing Resort, the newly completed WANLI in Zhangjiawan injects vibrant energy into Beijing while emerging as a unique mixed-use destination with the surrounding hotel and cultural hub.

Inspired by the hanging garden of Babylon, the overall planning breaks away from traditional layout and form, and the commercial circulation is linked with the urban metro via the adjacent depot, achieving a harmonious and smooth connection between the development and the city. A 167,000 sq m shopping mall and 35,000 sq m 5-star hotel are designed to shield the existing depot, while green stepping terraces soften the building edges, blurring the indoor-outdoor boundary. The multi-layered outdoor event spaces, stepping green terraces and roof gardens seamlessly connect the whole development.

Well Town: Beijing’s Vibrant New Landmark for Shopping and Leisure

To create a continuous public open space system, Well Town, the immersive shopping mall, forms a distinctive anchor point and acts as the urban interface. Integrating natural landscape, the terraces step back to connect the podium and the outer wing area, emphasising the coexistence of visitors and nature. The fluid and soft-edged façade together with the overhanging circular disk on the roof resembles the form of a levitating spaceship, while the main entrance incorporates digital screens to create a diversified arrival experience.

Aedas Global Design Principal Christine Lam describes, ‘With the theme of “Nature and Future” running through the whole design, all atriums adopt unique forms to create an exciting retail environment.’ One of the atriums mimics the form of calla lily as a lighting dome canopy with glass panels and LED screens spanning from the roof. Sufficient sunlight is introduced to the interiors during daytime, while spectacular lighting effects are created when night falls as in aurora occurs.

The rooftop atrium integrates digital waterscape and waterfall elements to create a natural, lively and diverse interactive space. The waterfall flows vertically from the top, highlighting the positioning and scale of the central atrium of the outlet. The remaining atrium blurs the exterior-interior boundary, creating a theatrical roof garden with multi-layered retail floors underneath, strengthening the flow and injecting vibrancy to the development.

Next-Generation Hotel: Redefining Modern Luxury and Design

Located to the west of the depot, the hotel has direct view towards Universal Beijing Resort – hence the approach experience is carefully considered – check-in services is located at the top floor, ensuring all guests to the hotel have access to the magnificent view.

The hotel is composed of 3 stacking volumes: The solid base where the exhibition space and café are located, the middle layer housing the guest rooms and a cantilevered crystal box at the top, which incorporates a sky lobby and recreational amenities including swimming pool, F&B and gym, offering an unobstructed landscape view and sunset scenery.

The stepping geometry creates special guest rooms with outdoor terraces overlooking the village depot. An outdoor garden platform located on the third floor and rooftop garden are created to provide public open leisure space. An integrated fluid skylight on the garden platform introduces sunlight to the café and exhibition space underneath. The outdoor platform seamlessly connects to the adjacent village on top of the depot, while an arched glass bridge that echoes the hotel façade elements connects the hotel with the mall, forming a continuous loop connecting the hotel, WellTown mall and the village depot.

David comments, ‘The Well Town and the NOUS Land with vibrant retail streets and TOD amenities upon depot will create a dynamic hub for the community and tourists, supported by the well-connected metro lines.’