After twenty years of service, the mall at Pacific Place underwent a four-year makeover, led by Thomas Heatherwick and completed in 2011. Developed by Swire Properties, Pacific Place, is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in the world. A complex of office towers, hotels and a shopping mall in the centre of Hong Kong that almost functions like a small town.

Heatherwick and his team undertook the task of transforming the experience and operations by addressing circulation and wayfinding, improving sightlines, introducing a new palette of materials, textures and detailing, and reducing energy consumption. The greatest transformation, executed with a subtle touch, is the reconfiguration of the top of the retail podium that forms the ground level of the office towers.

"I think we talk too much about the tops of buildings and not enough about the first floor which is typically our true experience of them. In Pacific Place, we focused on human-scale details like the buttons used to call the elevators, because those are the things people remember most." said Heatherwick.