a shopping mall with winding white railings on each level

February 7, 2024

This Expansive Mall in China Invites Exploration

2023 Best of Year Winner for Shopping Mall

A fictional island of towering cliffs in the middle of the ocean was the conceit for the eight-story mall on the Dalian coast of China by Ippolito Fleitz Group–Identity Architects. Inside Dalian Huanan MixC One, organically shaped atrium voids and sinuous catwalks draw attention to the vast scale of the 270,000-square-foot space, which houses no less than 261 individual stores. Staggered and stacked throughout the skylit atrium are giant cantilevered half-lanterns, their upward-branching LED-lit slats resembling bird nests on high. The palette is coastal, with crisp white solid surfacing pairing with desaturated wood-film finishes that evoke the appearance of driftwood weathered by the sun.

See Interior Design’s Best of Year Winners and Honorees

Explore must-see projects and innovative products that took home high honors.

2025 WINNERS

an expansive skylight in Dalian Huanan MixC One

a person on a wall escalator in the shopping mall

exterior of Dalian Huanan MixC One shopping mall with walls of glass windows

PROJECT TEAM

Jose Miso; Tim Lessmann; Silvia Wang; Chao Xie; Jason Yang; Maggie Jia; Gareth Hardy; Aaron Ye; Chen Dong; Olivia Weng; Lulu Wang; Dina Hool; Eva Perez; Erkin Sagir.

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7 Community-Oriented Spaces Nodding To Nature
Whether in Bentonville, Arkansas, or Avignon, France, libraries, visitor centers, even a college dorm seamlessly meld 21st-century advancements with materials and forms sourced from the great outdoors.
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An Expansive Concrete Home That Dissolves Into The Landscape
A discreet concrete façade conceals a light-filled home in Karmei Yosef by Pitsou Kedem Architects, where sliding glass walls open up to the Elah Valley.