The Vanke Times Centre in Beijing, designed by architects Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL), has opened and boasts shops, art installations, a multi-functional exhibition space and a bamboo meditation garden.

Formerly a shopping centre, the reincarnation is now primarily a business proposition, with office spaces being its main function. However, the space has kept up some of the leisure offerings of its predecessor with the aforementioned areas.

Perkins + Will-owned SHL have brought a Scandinavian ethos to the building with a clean-lined, open-plan aesthetic. And despite the building’s professional purpose, the architects have acted with public leisure in mind, adding in elements such as the bamboo meditation garden, which is open to all.

Chris Hardie, partner at SHL, said: “In addition to opening up the atriums and bringing a Scandinavian sensibility to the design, we pushed for the inclusion of spaces that both the public and tenants could enjoy.”

The meditation garden sits on the western side of the building’s second floor. Dotted with vertical, bamboo-like installations, it is naturally lit by a skylight. Berth white gravel and stone are interspersed across the area’s waterscape.

Natural anodised aluminium, bamboo and glass are the three main materials used throughout the building, while, behind the façade, a suspended sculpture installation by French artist Charles Petillon called "CloudStorm" dominates the ceiling and above-head space.

The building has been pre-certified as LEED Gold and takes up an area of 47,000sq m (505,904sq ft).

Z+T Studio of Shanghai took care of landscape architecture on the project, while Beijing Vanke Co. were the developers.