3D model developed by SELF, rendered by RSP Design Consultants
A retail and entertainment mall in Chennai, designed around a free-flowing, organic indoor atrium and a facade concept inspired by a curtain being drawn back to reveal what's inside.
This view was developed from the 3D model built during this phase, then rendered by RSP Design Consultants. The curved facade and cantilevered canopy read clearly here, with the illuminated signage picking up the same curve the massing sketches were built around.
Problem: A mall program with big anchor stores, a hypermarket, smaller retail, and parking risks reading as disconnected zones stitched together, with no clear path from arrival to store.
Action: Zoning was organized around a central atrium spine: big stores and the hypermarket bracket the plan on either side, smaller shops and back-of-house sit along the main circulation axis between them, and a single loop was drawn from drop-off through the atriums to parking.
Outcome: Every zone reads off one legible route rather than a maze, so the drop-off-to-parking sequence, not just the individual store footprints, became the organizing move for the plan.
Interior massing was refined level by level to keep the atrium reading as one continuous organic void rather than five stacked floor plates. Each level was tested against the same brief: an open, free-flowing circulation core that ties the retail floors together visually, with the footprint adjusting per level to support that opening rather than maximizing leasable area outright.
Building massing, Level 1 through Level 5
The client wanted a free-flowing, organic indoor space with an atrium. The exterior facade responds to that brief directly: the form is drawn as a curtain being lifted to reveal the interior beyond, translated from a loose hand sketch into a curved built form. The inside face of that curtain became functional too, doubling as a surface for posters and advertisements, and the whole design was developed within budget constraints rather than as an unconstrained gesture.
The landscaping does double duty: it's a recreational zone in its own right, and it visually extends the ground-floor drop-off area so arrival doesn't feel like a hard edge between street and building. The stepped landscaping in particular was designed as a continuation of the sports and shopping area on the lower ground level, connecting an outdoor terrace condition directly to an indoor retail one.
