Opened to the public in May 2021, the Ningbo MixC shopping mall has become the latest lifestyle destination for the local community.
With a GFA of 243,000m², the development is designed around the community and envisioned as an entertainment venue with the city’s first Ferris wheel. It also features a roof garden that provides a public space accessible to the community 24 hours a day.
As the lighting consultant, Arup has helped enhance the visitor experience by creating an uplifting interior and exterior environment with various lighting features.
Project Summary
243,000m² GFA
700mstretch of retail space
24-houraccessible public outdoor space
Illuminating the landmark Ferris wheel
As night falls, when the lights are on and the Ferris wheel starts to spin, an intimate atmosphere permeates the venue. The illuminated Ferris wheel is a new city landmark, visible from multiple vantages both inside and outside.
We designed the lighting to be integrated into the structure of the Ferris wheel, to emphasise the structural elements and enable flexible graphic expressions. Our lighting design ensures that the passengers can enjoy the city night view inside the capsule without being dazzled by the lighting mounted on outside of the wheel structure.
“We are excited to realise this project which features one of the longest indoor retail streets in China, a façade with highly varied expressions, and a Ferris wheel that has become a popular ‘check-in point’ in Ningbo. ”
Cherry Wang Principal Designer
Lighting up the ripple atria
Our lighting design concept in the mall is ‘ripples', and each of the three atria expresses a different ripple theme. In each atrium, feature lighting elements reflect the specific themes and create a joyful and appealing environment in addition to general lighting and accent lighting.
In the west atrium (ripple of imagination), a series of circular pendants were installed on the ceiling while the Ferris wheel is visible through the skylight. In the middle atrium (ripple of celebration), there are illuminated ripple pendants under the skylight. In the east atrium (ripple of nature), the underside of the tree house structure is highlighted to create a relaxing atmosphere.


Highlighting the gateway entrances
At the east entrance, a giant pitched roof and walls form an impressive gateway that reflects Ningbo’s historical building features. The characteristic roof is outlined with linear lights and uplight to illuminate the soffit, creating a harmonious and impressive image of the ‘gateway’.
In contrast, the west entrance has a more dynamic appearance with a curved façade. The lighting is fully integrated into the façade with linear lights on the upper and lower parts to illuminate the 3D aluminum panel, which enhances the arc-shaped feature. The middle glass section is covered by a large-area transparent media screen and the vertical linear fixtures were integrated into façade panels to emphasise the flowing vitality and rhythm.