Core Pacific City
Encyclopedia
Core Pacific City, also known as the Living Mall (Chinese: 京華城) is a shopping center in Taipei
, Taiwan
, and has a total floor space of 204,190 square meters. Built in 2001, the structure is a complex of two buildings - an L-shaped building which contains specialty boutiques connected to a sphere which contains the Mira Department Store. The complex consists of 12 above-ground stories and 7 underground levels. When it first opened, the mall was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As one of the first of several large-scale malls in Taiwan, Core Pacific's planners expected it to change local consumer behavior to Western-style one-stop shopping.
During the mall's development and construction, it was touted as the world's first truly 24 hour mall and Asia
's first "city within a city" complex. Core Pacific's total 19 story height is attributed to Taiwan's extremely expensive land costs. The sphere, considered to be Core Pacific's most dominant and visible feature, is 11 stories tall and made of granite
imported from Finland
, while the L-shaped portion is made of granite from Spain
. The mall's architects were the Jerde Partnership
and Artech, Inc. Jerde won the 2002 Gold Nugget Special Award of Excellence at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference/Western Building Show for its effort. The engineering firm Arup
was also recognized in 2002 for its work on the mall with a Structural Engineering Association of California Award for Excellence.
Before Core Pacific opened in 2001, its management had been fined by the Taipei city government for failing fire safety inspections. Further fines were levied when the mall opened to the public without actually first obtaining an operating license. In February 2002, a fire at the mall required the evacuation of 20,000 people. The fire was determined to be arson
, and in July 2002 former Core Pacific official Lin Chang-cheng (林長成) was convicted of the crime along with two others, Wang Lin-kwun (王林坤) and Lin Ching-chi (林清吉). Losses were estimated at NT
$12 million. The opening of Taipei 101
's mall in 2003 was expected to affect the revenues of Core Pacific's tenants, although less severely than at other malls due to Core Pacific's lower price points. In 2004, the mall's management company was cited by Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission for unfair trade practices relating to a gift certificate promotion campaign.
, as a Hazard task for the Vegas showgirls, Kaylani & Lisa. where they had to perform an indoor bungee jump
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, and has a total floor space of 204,190 square meters. Built in 2001, the structure is a complex of two buildings - an L-shaped building which contains specialty boutiques connected to a sphere which contains the Mira Department Store. The complex consists of 12 above-ground stories and 7 underground levels. When it first opened, the mall was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As one of the first of several large-scale malls in Taiwan, Core Pacific's planners expected it to change local consumer behavior to Western-style one-stop shopping.
During the mall's development and construction, it was touted as the world's first truly 24 hour mall and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
's first "city within a city" complex. Core Pacific's total 19 story height is attributed to Taiwan's extremely expensive land costs. The sphere, considered to be Core Pacific's most dominant and visible feature, is 11 stories tall and made of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
imported from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, while the L-shaped portion is made of granite from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The mall's architects were the Jerde Partnership
Jon Jerde
Jon Jerde is an American architect based in Venice, California, Founder & Chairman of , a design architecture and urban planning firm that pioneered the concept of placemaking and "experience architecture;" and has created multiple award-winning commercial developments around the globe...
and Artech, Inc. Jerde won the 2002 Gold Nugget Special Award of Excellence at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference/Western Building Show for its effort. The engineering firm Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
was also recognized in 2002 for its work on the mall with a Structural Engineering Association of California Award for Excellence.
Before Core Pacific opened in 2001, its management had been fined by the Taipei city government for failing fire safety inspections. Further fines were levied when the mall opened to the public without actually first obtaining an operating license. In February 2002, a fire at the mall required the evacuation of 20,000 people. The fire was determined to be arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
, and in July 2002 former Core Pacific official Lin Chang-cheng (林長成) was convicted of the crime along with two others, Wang Lin-kwun (王林坤) and Lin Ching-chi (林清吉). Losses were estimated at NT
New Taiwan dollar
The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...
$12 million. The opening of Taipei 101
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 , formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010...
's mall in 2003 was expected to affect the revenues of Core Pacific's tenants, although less severely than at other malls due to Core Pacific's lower price points. In 2004, the mall's management company was cited by Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission for unfair trade practices relating to a gift certificate promotion campaign.
In Popular Culture
The mall appeared in The Amazing Race 19The Amazing Race 19
The Amazing Race 19 is the nineteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 19 features several teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world. The 19th season premiered on September 25, 2011.The nineteenth cycle started on...
, as a Hazard task for the Vegas showgirls, Kaylani & Lisa. where they had to perform an indoor bungee jump
External links
- Official site
- Photo of sphere, exterior
- Photo of sphere, interior
- Architect Jon Jerde's urban vision, Wired Magazine
- Seismic design study by ArupArupArup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
- Emporis data