▲ Bird’s-eye View of Shunde Happy Coast PLUS Commercial Complex © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
Foshan Shunde Happy Coast PLUS is a next-generation cultural and tourism landmark developed by the OCT Group. It stands as the largest urban cultural and tourism complex within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The commercial district, designed by Laguarda.Low Architects, officially opened in late 2020, providing Shunde with a vibrant, open, and multifunctional space for living, entertainment, and leisure.
▲ Bird’s-eye View of Shunde Happy Coast PLUS Commercial Complex © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
Project Location
Located in Shunde District, a region renowned as a “millennium water town and a famous city in Lingnan,” this project spans both sides of a scenic lake, linking natural water systems within the urban area. The southern lakebank features Maya Beach Water Park and Happy Time Theme Park, while the themed commercial area lies on the northern bank, south of Happy Avenue and adjacent to the under-construction Fengsha subway station.
The commercial district comprises four hotel apartment towers, a five-story shopping center named O’Plaza, and the Qushui Bay food street. Laguarda.Low Architects collaborated with landscape design firm Martha Schwartz Partners and Shenzhen Huahui to plan and design the project, leveraging the site’s natural resources and waterfront landscapes to create a modern waterfront village that blends water entertainment, dining, shopping, traditional culture, and boutique hotels.
▲ Overall bird’s-eye view of Shunde Happy Coast PLUS © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
▲ Integrated and unified design © LLA
Shunde Happy Coast PLUS Theme Business District is situated at No.1, Happy Avenue, Daliang Street, Shunde District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province, just a 15-minute drive from Shunde’s city center. This vibrant leisure and commercial street integrates dining, entertainment, shopping, accommodation, sightseeing, and performance, all woven seamlessly into the urban and waterfront fabric.
▲ O’Plaza Shopping Center Main Entrance © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ South facade and commercial area of O’Plaza shopping center © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
▲ Outdoor commercial street © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
Design Concept
The core design concept, “Waterfront Resort,” aims to offer residents and visitors of Shunde a comfortable and humanized experience infused with Lingnan regional characteristics.
▲ Waterfront Resort Experience © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
The project’s standout feature is the stunning central lake environment. The main entrance to the commercial area is located on Joy Avenue at the north side of the site, with two secondary roads flanking the O’Plaza shopping center, providing direct access to the waterfront.
▲ Outdoor commercial block square © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Night view of O’Plaza shopping center’s main entrance © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Outdoor commercial district © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Outdoor commercial district © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
The complex consists of three main building groups: the grand shopping center, high-rise hotel apartments with commercial podiums, and the village-style Qushuiwan street. Each has its own distinct commercial identity while maintaining architectural and spatial transitions.
Visitors navigate through multiple layers: the indoor centralized shopping flow within O’Plaza, a creative cultural street supported by cultural spaces, and the winding outdoor dining street of Qushuiwan. This progression offers a gradual shift in scale and style—from modern to regional—allowing a rich, multi-dimensional shopping, entertainment, and leisure experience stretching from Happy Avenue to the waterside Carnival Square.
▲ Unified urban scale © LLA
▲ Gradual transition of architectural styles from modern to regional © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
▲ View over the tower from the waterfront © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
The design of O’Plaza shopping center incorporates distinctive Lingnan architectural elements. Its south facade is broken down into smaller blocks to soften the building’s mass and establish a harmonious spatial scale with the adjacent Qushuiwan Commercial Street. The interior design continues this theme by integrating natural greenery into the space, creating a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor environments.
▲ Scale transition boundary © LLA
▲ Aerial view of outdoor commercial districts © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ O’Plaza and adjacent Qushuiwan Commercial Street create a cohesive spatial scale and shopping experience © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
Natural lighting pours in through skylights, while green landscaping in the atrium and irregular dark flooring, designed to resemble cracked ice, flow seamlessly from outdoor to indoor areas. This design blurs the boundary between interior and exterior spaces, crafting a continuous spatial experience and commercial flow, allowing visitors to enjoy shopping in a natural, relaxed atmosphere.
Additionally, the rooftop garden on the shopping center’s top floor and the inner courtyard layout visually connect with Qushui Bay and the natural water system to the south, offering the best views across the entire Happy Coast project.
▲ South Entrance and Landscape Waterway of O’Plaza Shopping Center © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
▲ Atrium schematic at O’Plaza shopping center entrance © LLA
▲ Public staircase at O’Plaza main entrance © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ O’Plaza Shopping Center Courtyard © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Skylight of O’Plaza Shopping Center © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ O’Plaza Indoor Garden Landscape Diagram © LLA
▲ O’Plaza indoor flooring design concept for each floor © LLA
▲ O’Plaza Courtyard © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Interior of O’Plaza Shopping Center © Edgar Wong
Flanking the east and west sides of O’Plaza Shopping Center and Qushuiwan Commercial Street are four serviced hotel apartment towers, offering visitors comprehensive facilities for work, leisure, and tourism. Embracing Shunde’s rich culinary heritage, the tower podium houses an international food culture exchange center, providing an exceptional platform for chefs worldwide to explore culinary arts and host tasting events.
In addition to the art installations and sculptures displayed in public areas, the tower podium also features an art museum, enriching the cultural atmosphere of the development.
▲ Hotel apartment tower © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
▲ Tower © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Tower © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Tower © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Tower Details © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Tower Details © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
Together with the Happy Time Theme Park and Maya Beach Water Park on the south bank, the themed commercial district has become Shunde’s premier entertainment and leisure destination, setting a benchmark for green waterfront commercial shopping.
▲ Night aerial view of the North Bank commercial district © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
Featured Spaces
The facade of Qushuiwan Fengqing Commercial Street is adorned with local green bricks reclaimed from demolitions across Shunde’s towns and streets. Echoing this, the O’Plaza Shopping Center exterior features small-sized green bricks, metal aluminum panels, and concrete slabs, lending the mall a more human scale and approachable feel.
Spatial scale variations extend into the landscaping: large elements mark main entrances and exits, while more intimate spaces are designed around the waterfront. The shopping center’s north facade and tower podium front a broad palm-lined avenue accented by landscaped waterways and sunshade canopies, guiding visitors along the commercial pedestrian street toward an exceptional waterfront that blends dining, entertainment, relaxation, performance, and sightseeing.
From this elegant lakeshore, visitors can enjoy views of the theme park across the water, the iconic “Shunde Eye” Ferris wheel, and the Blue Bay Villa area along the northwest lakeshore.
▲ Outdoor commercial block square © Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm
▲ Sunshade ceiling and blue brick veneer © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
▲ Dynamic sunshade canopy guides visitors through the commercial pedestrian street © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
Sustainable Design
Green landscaping plays a vital role in this project, enhancing the overall visitor experience and commercial appeal while providing essential shading and cooling in Lingnan’s hot climate. This greenery integrates with rooftop garden rainwater harvesting and solar energy collection systems, establishing a comprehensive ecological and sustainable green design framework.
▲ Shunde Happy Coast PLUS Overall Planning Stage Roof Plan © LLA
▲ Aerial view of the North Bank commercial district © Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu
Project Information
Project Name: Shunde Happy Coast PLUS
Developer: Overseas Chinese Town Group
Location: Shunde, Foshan, China
Project Area: 238,705 m²
Completion: Fully opened in 2020
Design Firm: LLA Architectural Design Company / Laguarda.Low Architects
LLA Design Scope: Overall planning; design of hotel and apartment towers; tower commercial podium; O’Plaza mall architecture and interior; terrace and podium landscape coordination
Project Website: www.octharbourplus.com
Key Team Members:
- Project Controller/Chief Planner, Chief Architect: John Low – AIA President/Partner
- Lead Designer: Ken Shigematsu – Associate AIA President
- Senior Project Manager: Liang Jin – Vice President of AIA
- Senior Designer: Supachai Chalermratananon – Vice President of LEED AP
- Senior Project Manager: Tony Botta – Senior Director
- Senior Project Manager (China Region): Huang Yiji – AIA Senior Director
- Senior Designer: Jin Zhengren – AIA Senior Director
- Senior Designer: Michael Georgopoulos – AIA Senior Director
- Designer: Pan Xinzhi – LEED AP Director
Design Partners:
Martha Schwartz & Partners (Landscape Design), CCDI Sidi International (Local Design Cooperation Unit), Huahui Design (Qushuiwan Local Design Cooperation Unit), Baoying Group (Shopping Center Interior Design Deepening Unit), Atkinson Landscape Design Company (Landscape Design Deepening Unit & Shopping Center Interior Landscape Consultant), BPI (Lighting Consultant), Vetra (Environmental Graphic Design and Visual Guidance System), Shenzhen Sanxin Curtain Wall (Curtain Wall Consultant)
Project Photography: Sikang Architectural Landscape Photography Firm, Tong Yanlong, Lin Yu, Edgar Wong
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