May 30th, Monday.
Liang Qingfan brought the design blueprints for the Golden Maze to Thrilling Lodge.
This week he had basically been working in an intensive state, but he didn’t feel tired. Instead, he felt extremely energized.
The process of architects producing drawings can be either long or short. Some real estate companies, for the sake of high turnover, would even specifically issue documents requiring design institutes to produce drawings overnight after receiving marketing configuration and design requirements.
This was just an extreme example, very unreasonable and inhumane, but it was enough to show the miserable aspects of the architectural industry.
For Liang Qingfan, the Golden Maze wasn’t the tightest deadline or most exhausting project he had ever taken on, but it was the most exciting one.
The reasons were nothing more than three: the pay was generous, the client didn’t meddle too much or demand changes here and there, and the design itself had a lot of room for creativity, making it very interesting.
Since he could design completely according to his ideas, with ample authority and sufficient funding, any architect’s inspiration and enthusiasm would be fully stimulated.
Arriving at the Thrilling Lodge office, Chen Kangtuo and Shi Zherui were already waiting.
“Sorry to keep you both waiting. Let me explain the design plan for the Golden Maze. However, some details might not be as perfect as I’d like, and would need further refinement from Teacher Shi.”
Shi Zherui quickly nodded: “Of course.”
Liang Qingfan began explaining his design using the blueprints.
“After taking actual measurements, I found that this workshop is quite spacious with strong malleability, but if we want to make it into the maze that Mr. Pei requires, the area seems a bit insufficient.”
“After all, shops need to be large enough to store sufficient merchandise, and under such premises, to hide the shops, the maze itself needs to be large enough as well.”
“So, my first consideration was to take advantage of the high ceiling feature of the workshop and create split levels for the entire Golden Maze, utilizing the vertical space to stagger the various shops and create a three-dimensional maze.”
“At the same time, this split-level approach allows us to create rest areas and viewing areas at specific nodes. When tourists rest in these areas, they can see the locations of 2-3 shops across the space. This will drive them to continue looking for shops they haven’t visited after resting, as having seen what the shop looks like will further stimulate tourists’ desire to explore.”
“Of course, seeing and finding are completely different matters.”
“We will also leave exits at all viewing and rest areas. Normally, these exits are disguised and look no different from maze passages, but in case of emergency, emergency indicator lights will illuminate, allowing tourists to quickly evacuate.”
“Considering the construction period, we will use a lot of steel structures, since we’re not paying for it ourselves, we don’t need to consider cost issues.”
“As for the decoration style, here’s a simple rendering I’ve made. Although Mr. Pei requested a magnificent golden effect, I don’t think we should make everything pure gold, as it easily causes visual fatigue, and the actual effect might appear somewhat tacky, making people think of nouveau riche wearing large gold chains, which deviates from the quality we hope to achieve.”
“I consider that the basic style of the entire maze should be consistent. To ensure stylistic unity, we can consider using various luxurious, high-quality materials paired with specific lighting to create a sense of luxury without making tourists feel it’s tacky.”
“At the same time, the areas where each shop is located can have different details. For example, in shops favored by younger people, selling figurines and merchandise, we can use red, which symbolizes vitality, energy, and passion, as well as orange, which represents lightness and abundance.”
“In shops favored by more mature individuals, selling quality souvenirs, we can use blue, which symbolizes rationality and tranquility.”
“In some more romantic shop areas, which might sell couples’ headwear, themed clothing, etc., we could consider using burgundy as an accent.”
“In shops selling interesting gadgets, we can use mysterious purple in combination, but considering that purple and gold are both rich color tones that might cause spatial imbalance, we would need to use white and other tones for sporadic matching.”
“All these shops have direct staff access routes not open to tourists, facilitating restocking and ensuring that staff don’t have to walk through the maze every time they come to work.”
“At the same time, we can arrange random small vendors in certain special areas of the maze, selling interesting little items.”
“This way, if tourists want to find a specific shop area, they can determine whether they’re on the right path by judging the general environment around them.”
“After all, Mr. Pei’s purpose in having us design this maze is to provide tourists with a novel and interesting shopping experience, not to discourage them. Giving appropriate hints allows tourists to maintain a sense of exploration and mystery, while not losing their shopping motivation because the shops are too difficult to find.”
“That’s the general idea. Do you have any opinions?”
Liang Qingfan finished his explanation and looked up at the two.
Chen Kangtuo and Shi Zherui said in unison: “Great! No objections!”
Liang Qingfan felt a bit embarrassed: “Please feel free to share any thoughts you have. Modifying plans according to client needs is very normal, so please don’t hesitate.”
Chen Kangtuo shook his head: “No, I truly think this plan is already very well-developed! I particularly like the design elements, including the rest areas that offer views of shops and the different color schemes for different product areas.”
“While fulfilling Mr. Pei’s requirements, you’ve also maximized the functionality and practicality of the entire mall, achieving a perfect balance of exploration, entertainment, and shopping experiences.”
“Mr. Pei has always told us that professional matters should be left to professionals, and we shouldn’t have laypeople directing experts. Just as Mr. Pei completely trusts Boss Ruan, we should also completely trust your design!”
Liang Qingfan couldn’t help but smile, seeing that Mr. Pei’s spirit had been inherited by Tenda’s employees. Having such clients made things easier.
He looked at Shi Zherui: “Teacher Shi, since you’ll be responsible for on-site construction, if there’s anything you find inappropriate, please bring it up early so I can make changes.”
Shi Zherui shook his head: “No objections! Just looking at the blueprints, I can see that Teacher Liang’s foundation is solid, and you’ve considered various aspects very thoroughly. This kind of imagination is truly enviable! I definitely couldn’t design such a maze myself.”
“Though I hate to admit that an outside monk knows the scriptures better, it’s indeed the case! Fortunately, Mr. Pei invited you from Shanghai; otherwise, if the maze wasn’t well-designed, wouldn’t I would have to take the blame.”
Liang Qingfan smiled: “What are you saying, Teacher Shi? I think you’re mainly busy with the Thrilling Lodge project, so you simply don’t have enough time. If you could focus solely on design, I’m sure you could perfectly fulfill Mr. Pei’s requirements as well.”
The two exchanged professional compliments and were both very satisfied with the plan.
“Good, then I’ll give this plan to Mr. Li so they can arrange for construction as soon as possible.”
Liang Qingfan yawned: “Alright, you two can carry on with your work. I’ve been a bit sleep-deprived these days, so I’ll go catch up on sleep first. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime.”
……
More than an hour later, Li Shi came to Chen Kangtuo’s office.
“Mr. Li, this is the mall design plan we’ve come up with.”
Chen Kangtuo and Shi Zherui introduced Liang Qingfan’s plan to Mr. Li.
Considering that Mr. Li wasn’t a professional, Shi Zherui didn’t go into too many details during the introduction, mainly explaining the overall design concept, philosophy, and specific functions.
When he first saw the extremely complex structural diagrams and the magnificent renderings, Li Shi was startled.
A mall made to be as magnificent as a luxury goods counter, with so many complex structures—how much would this cost?
Could Mr. Pei be taking advantage of me as a big spender?
However, after listening to Chen Kangtuo and Shi Zherui’s explanation, Li Shi’s doubts instantly vanished, replaced by a sense of satisfaction.
Initially, he thought the plan was extorting money, but after hearing the overall design, Li Shi felt that, although expensive, it would be effective!
It could not only serve as a shopping mall but also as another attraction for Thrilling Lodge, using this special approach to tease customers, play hard to get, leave them wanting more… in short, it could create buzz and stimulate tourists’ desire to shop!
Moreover, the most crucial point was that Mr. Pei had indeed put thought and great effort into this plan!
The idea of turning a mall into a maze must have been Mr. Pei’s brainchild, right?
Such an intricate and complex design plan, such a tasteful decoration style—surely he had paid a hefty price to specially invite professional designers?
This all showed how much Mr. Pei valued this project!
If Mr. Pei values it this much, how could the project not succeed?
So the question was, why did Mr. Pei value it so much?
Mr. Li felt it was obvious because he had accurately assessed Mr. Pei’s temperament.
He had already judged earlier that Mr. Pei was a person who remained very calm in business matters, and how much effort he put in for you, how much benefit he let you enjoy, was entirely based on cold calculations of interest.
If he hadn’t proactively offered this mall, borne the decoration costs, and shared half the profits, Mr. Pei definitely wouldn’t have bothered with this plan.
It was precisely because he had contributed this portion of profits to Mr. Pei, further binding their interests together, that Mr. Pei was willing to burn some brain cells and provide an excellent design plan.
Look, this was a win-win situation!
Ultimately, the success of this cooperation was due to his accurate understanding and assessment of Mr. Pei’s character.
Shouldn’t he give himself a little red flower for that?
After Chen Kangtuo finished introducing the plan, he said: “Mr. Li, if you have any opinions or suggestions about this plan…”
Li Shi waved his hand: “None at all, absolutely no objections!”
“Since it’s Mr. Pei’s plan, it must be flawless!”
“I’ll arrange everything right away and strive to start construction as soon as possible!”