Shenyangs Epic Lotte World

Hot off their ambitious plans for a supertall tower in Korea the conglomerate the Lotte Group is now turning its eyes towards the People's Republic of China and the city of Shenyang.

The massive scheme for eight skyscrapers arranged around the perimeter of a massive central shopping have been designed by RTKL and Junglim Architecture with the scheme including not one but three supertall towers.

The former design which one could charitably describe as a tacky post-modern take on traditional Chinese architecture has been dumped and replaced with a slick affair, the highlight of which is a squashed and twisting supertall skyscraper with a glazed skin that size aside looks like it may have escaped from Life in the Undergrowth.

On the opposite side of the site are another two supertalls, each positioned on the corners of the shopping mall as if they are castle turrets. With rectangular floorplates and vertically sheer sides they contrast strongly with their reptilian looking neighbour.

Of course no development of this size is complete without the shopping mall which is truly enormous and nearly fills the 164,706 square metre site. There aren't just shops either as also thrown in is a Lotte World entertainment complex, a terraced minature lake, and an ice rink under a glazed roof so you can look up at the towers as you skate along.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the site happened in late 2008 although with the latest set of design changes it may be a while yet before Lotte stamp their mark on Shenyang's skyline but even if they do, there's another seven 300 metre plus projects planned for the city... and it's not even one of China's top ten biggest. Or to put it in perspective, it sits on the same position in the Chinese league table as Detroit does in the United States of America.