Shougang Park Unveils a New Look, Rongshi Plaza Delivers a New Non-Standard Commercial Answer!

Urban Renewal and Non-Standard Commercial Evolution: Shougang Park’s New Look and Rongshi Plaza’s Unique Commercial Answer.Urban renewal and the fragmentation of non-standard commercial development are driving innovation in commercial spaces, leading to a reemergence of homogenization. At the crossroads of urban renewal, the industry requires a more rational approach—integrating the city’s DNA, industrial logic, and cultural spirit into architectural transformations. This “content differentiation” approach can achieve the enhancement of commercial value.Currently, the consumption landscape in Beijing’s commercial market is significantly shifting from east to west, with many new projects driving the strong rise of western consumption. As an important project along the West Chang’an Street corridor, Shougang Park has become a fusion of culture, sports, technology, and exhibitions in the post-Olympic era. It has transformed from an “industrial rust belt” to an “urban showcase.”As the largest industrial heritage renewal project globally, the continuous development of Shougang Park attracts much attention. Recently, the China Shopping Center Alliance was informed that another potential non-standard project, “Rongshi Plaza,” will begin trial operations on October 1st this year. This project is not only a key municipal project and the core development of the New Shougang International Talent Community, but also the culmination of over a decade of Shougang Park’s renewal experience.

Located at the eastern gateway of Shougang Park and connected to two subway lines, Rongshi Plaza is surrounded by a high-potential customer base. The project spans a total construction area of 202,000 square meters, with 98,000 square meters dedicated to industrial office space, 28,000 square meters of commercial space, 507 serviced apartments, and 875 parking spaces. The layout is designed to integrate the “industrial heritage + modern experience” around a central plaza, forming a circular structure.The North Building (Building 1), a repurposed shopping center from the original sintering plant, is surrounded by commercial streets on three sides. It combines a range of functions, including tech retail, themed restaurants, cultural and artistic spaces, and future health, creating an international “urban living room” that embodies industrial style, intelligence, and interactivity. This development fills a key gap in the area’s commercial landscape and serves as a significant milestone in Shougang Park’s upgrade and transformation.Through our on-site visit, we will deeply analyze how Rongshi Plaza creatively presents the commercial characteristics of the “urban living room” by focusing on three aspects: decoding local cultural scenes, fostering brand co-creation and a friendly ecosystem, and curating top-tier social forces.Decoding Local Culture and Creating a Non-Standard Showcase for the New Era.From one-storey uniformity to a thousand faces, the core of non-standard commercial is personalized expression and practice.

Rongshi Plaza, standing on the shoulders of giants, builds its unique localized advantages by incorporating a century-old industrial culture and craftsmanship spirit into the creation of “scene space.”In communication with the project team, we were once again amazed by the design creativity. They believe the essence of the non-standard commercial space revolution is creation—it is about transforming cold architecture into a warm emotional carrier of life. By decoding local culture, they create emotional connections, rejuvenating city buildings with living memories that resonate with the public, reinforcing consumer recognition and memory points.Rongshi Plaza’s organic update retains key industrial remnants such as sintering production lines, gantry cranes, and smokestacks. The interior design preserves the massive factory trusses as the architectural skeleton, while the weathered red brick walls are integrated with panoramic glass curtain walls. The gantry crane track is transformed into a memory walkway, and the 15-meter double-height original building atrium is reserved as a “site of occurrence” for various curation events.The first-floor open space of 7,200 square meters features an industrial-style façade and leisure areas, with bidirectional interactive traffic flows and flexible business hours, expanding the touchpoint between consumers and brands. This makes “one store, one scene” a tangible reality, maximizing commercial operational efficiency.

After extensive research and discussions, Rongshi Plaza has abandoned 1,000 square meters of business space, opting to create a multifunctional “cultural living room” on the fourth floor of Building 1. This space integrates a museum, visitor center, and exhibition area, allowing the building and culture to coexist and form a “public urban space” that fosters social and cultural exchanges.From our perspective, Rongshi Plaza revitalizes the old architecture with a symbiotic model, showcasing a blend of “hardcore industrial style and modern minimalist aesthetics.” This enhances the project’s recognition and architectural identity, as evidenced by its four Gold Awards at the 2025 MUSE Design Awards. It is set to become a new “wild photography studio” for social media influencers.A Green Urban Oasis with Micro-Vacation Feel.Rongshi Plaza creates a green natural ecosystem and a city oasis with a sense of micro-vacation. When designing its aesthetic spaces, the project emphasizes an immersive “natural ecological” experience. The 2,500-square-meter open Northeast Plaza connects the commercial area and the central plaza, combined with landmark buildings and a 1,500-square-meter pocket park, creating a forest-like relaxing vibe.In this fusion of urban hustle and natural tranquility, Rongshi Plaza builds a 10,000-square-meter multifunctional LIVE space in the central plaza, where “sparks” and “snowflakes” elements symbolize the industrial furnace and the ice and snow Olympic legacy, creating a third space for micro-vacations in the city.

It’s expected that in the future, Rongshi Plaza will incorporate a community LIVE stage, themed market areas, multifunctional event lawns, and more, building a shared urban hub with “content + scenes” to maximize offline social engagement and present a vibrant new cultural landscape.A Non-Standard Commercial Cluster Driving New Consumption Ecology.Around 50% of the first-store matrix is built on the “new consumer ecology,” strengthening brand co-creation. Over the years, the western Beijing commercial circle has become an ideal destination for first stores, independent brands, and flagship stores, due to market changes and evolving consumer lifestyles. The non-standard commercial clusters not only provide natural space and photo-worthy scenes for brands but also foster flexible cooperation models, enabling brand growth while avoiding homogenized competition.In terms of brand matrix planning, Rongshi Plaza focuses on long-term development, emphasizing the first-store economy, personalized customization, smart technology experiences, high-quality markets, and future health centers to create customized consumption scenes. This approach will serve as an engine and hub for traffic upgrades.Embracing “Robot-Friendly” for a Differentiated Experience.Unlike other non-standard projects that follow a single “cultural-artistic” route, the Rongshi Plaza team integrates the advantages of robot industry resources and Shougang Park’s potential for scene application. It includes the first new concept showroom of Cloud Whale Robotics, Beijing’s first robot lifestyle experience space, as well as deployment of delivery robots, intelligent guides, and customer service robots to create a fully automated shopping experience.

The immersive “robot-friendly” concept will bring the future lifestyle into reality.By hosting robot-themed exhibitions and tech workshops, along with Shougang Park’s regular sci-fi and intelligent activities, Rongshi Plaza will enhance its appeal by integrating technology, improving the micro-vacation mode, and attracting specific customer groups.A Multi-Dimensional Quality Commercial Ecosystem.In its commitment to building a resilient commercial ecosystem, Rongshi Plaza will also introduce a 16,500-square-meter “high-end medical service complex” developed by Shiyi Medical, featuring health and wellness brands such as “Zhi Ma Health” flagship store in western Beijing. This will create a new paradigm for enhancing consumer health and well-being.As more brands with aesthetic lifestyles and high-end quality will continue to move in, Rongshi Plaza will rapidly develop a commercial ecosystem built on sustainable growth.Social Power and Custom Curation.Rongshi Plaza will combine Shougang Park’s “technology, curation, community, park, and cultural” resources to host city-level circle activities like art exhibitions, IP pop-ups, night economies, and market research, providing continuous, exclusive content that breaks boundaries and fosters social interaction in new ways. The plaza aims to become a hub for “city-level event incubation,” enhancing public engagement through its innovative social power.Conclusion.As Shougang Park continues to drive urban consumption and economic growth, with more than 900 events in its first-release series and an expected 13 million visitors in 2024, Rongshi Plaza will continue to evolve, becoming a new model for quality urban transformation.