Shanghai CPIC Xintiandi Commercial Centre: Expressive GRC Façade and Tactile Textures

Breaking ground in 2019, the CPIC Xintiandi Commercial Centre is a major mixed-use development in the heart of Shanghai, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (office tower), Kokai Studios (retail podium), East China Architectural Design & Research Institute (ECADI), and WSP. Spanning approximately 390,000 square meters, the project thoughtfully integrates contemporary office and retail functions with heritage preservation, enhanced by public green spaces and cultural amenities. The result is a vibrant urban space that balances modern vitality with historical depth.

A central highlight of the project is The Xintiandi Galleria (retail podium), which is clad in 11,000 square meters of decorative GRC panels produced by Jiangsu Huiquan New Materials in collaboration with Aalborg White Cement. Featuring terrazzo and exposed aggregate finishes, the façade uses a materials-driven design language to create a visual dialogue with the surrounding traditional architecture, reinforcing a sense of continuity and context.

Located on the east side of Taiping Qiao Park, the development is organized around a pedestrian-friendly retail environment anchored by a 250-metre office tower. Designed with a human-centred approach, the master plan draws inspiration from the spirit of the former Dongtai Road antique market, recreating its lively atmosphere through covered retail lanes. These three to four storey retail buildings are connected via elevated walkways and seamlessly integrated with the city metro system.

The development makes bold use of materials, including architecture concrete façade, to activate the site and enrich the texture of the urban fabric. The office tower sculptural, curved profile blends harmoniously into the park setting, underscoring a refined sensitivity to its urban and cultural context.
 

The Xintiandi Galleria: Distinctive GRC Façade

Completed in 2023, GRC façade of The Xintiandi Galleria was designed by Kokai Studios and manufactured by Jiangsu Huiquan New Materials. Panels reach up to six meters in length and feature six surface finishes: matte white terrazzo, matte grey sandblasted texture, and four exposed aggregate tones—pure white, beige, grey, and dark grey. Available in flat, folded, and curved formats, the panels create a dynamic, layered façade composition.

A signature feature is the “Haipai” exposed aggregate, a rugged and post-treated natural stone texture that offers strong contrast to the sleek glass facade. In parallel, the polished terrazzo finish adds sophistication with a soft, marble-like sheen, enhancing the contemporary character of the architecture.

Thanks to its vibrant and chromatic stability of GRC, the design achieves long-lasting colour integrity and subtle tonal variation. This allowed the architects to experiment with bold combinations of texture and colour, crafting a facade that is both expressive and cohesive.

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 ^{GRC cladding with exposed aggregate fnishes} 

Technical Excellence and Collaboration

“The GRC façade system is a core design element of The Xintiandi Galleria,” said Zhang Deli, General Manager of Jiangsu Huiquan New Materials. “We achieved both terrazzo and exposed aggregate finishes on a single panel, an innovation that earned the project a Polaris Architecture Award nomination.”

Early in the design process, multiple technical workshops and on-site factory visits were held to ensure design precision and production quality. One of the main challenges was achieving consistency across panels that featured multiple textures and colours. To meet this, Huiquan selected Aalborg White CEM I 52.5 for its chemical purity and consistent performance.

“The high whiteness and consistency of white cement allowed us to precisely control colour tone and texture,” Zhang explained. “We paid close attention to every detail, from sharp terrazzo edges to evenly distributed aggregate and smooth sanded textures. The outcome reflects our shared commitment to aesthetic and technical excellence.”
 

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^{Jiangsu Huiquan GRC factory visits by architects}  

Cultural Continuity and Urban Innovation

Xintiandi has long been a gateway to both rich history of Shanghai and its evolving future. The CPIC Xintiandi Commercial Centre continues this narrative by preserving the essence of Shikumen architecture while reimagining it through a contemporary design lens. Blending cultural heritage with modern aesthetics, the development is emerging as a standout example of urban renewal in Shanghai.
 

Immagine

^{The Xintiandi Galleria (retail podium) is clad in 11,000 square meters of decorative GRC panels}