Dongguan MIXC VILLAGE IP Installation

On December 28, 2025, MIXC VILLAGE, the first premium outlet project under China Resources Group, officially opened in Dongguan Binhaiwan New District. Situated at the heart of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the project is envisioned as a “slow-living island” bridging city and nature, offering consumers a fashion-forward resort destination with enduring appeal and vitality. As a key component in shaping the overall atmosphere of the development, PILLS won the bid for the “Atmospheric Installation Planning and Design” project in 2024. In December 2025, the landmark gateway art installation was completed. It not only serves as the visual emblem of this island-inspired commercial space, but also, through immersive scenography and IP-driven storytelling, brings a unique dimension to the high-quality leisure and retail experience in the Greater Bay Area. - MIXC VILLAGE - An Exit from the City, An Entrance to life. The positioning of China Resources MIXC VILLAGE is grounded in a profound insight into the contemporary consumer landscape. Amid an M-shaped social structure and the growing trend toward rational consumption, cost-effectiveness and overall experience have become key factors in offline consumption decisions. The commercial logic is shifting from a reliance on products to a fundamental return to human needs. The value of emotional experience has surpassed that of goods, and the creation of more meaningful and memorable moments has become central to commercial success. MIXC VILLAGE is positioned as "the model of the next-generation slow commerce"—a fashionable resort that combines nature, comfort, relaxation, and pleasure. Amid the structured urbanscape of the Binhai Bay New Area, it is clearly defined by its iconic white architecture, resembling a tranquil island. It serves as both "an exit from the city" and "an entrance to life," offering people the possibility to pause, relax, and switch their rhythm. Advocating for a lifestyle of “free at ease," it provides a perfect balance of distance and accessible convenience, aiming to become the top choice for people to settle their minds, rediscover life, and reconnect with themselves. In the context of consumer downtrading, the question of how to elevate the overall experience has become central. PILLS focuses on the core emotional needs of the target audience for this commercial destination. The approach includes a series of creative processes, such as overall narrative planning, pedestrian flow design, and the planning and design of key atmospheric installations. By linking spatial narratives through installations of different scales, the project aims to activate the energy of the environment and connect it to the vitality of the city. The preliminary storyline planning begins with the question: “What kind of life do you want?” From this premise, the site is envisioned as a mysterious island absent from maps. The narrative follows a voyager who pursues a cloud on the horizon, arrives at the island, rediscovers vitality through exploration and moments of leisure, and ultimately finds an answer to an ideal way of living. The installation design connects a sequence of chapters—“Revelation,” “Landing,” “Encounters,” and “Gathering.” At the same time, these installations perform multiple functions, serving as gateway landmarks while also providing shade for microclimate and rest areas. At the heart of the overall planning is a gentle yet compelling invitation extended to everyone: “Come dream for a while, and rediscover the vitality of life.” The gateway cloud installation serves as the seal of this invitation, marking the beginning of a spatial narrative about the pursuit of an ideal life. - IP Art Installation Design An Urban-Scale Floating Icon Unlike traditional static urban sculptures, this installation is not conceived as an isolated form. Instead, it is rooted in a complete IP narrative framework, functioning as a storytelling medium that serves as the first visual cue and spatial anchor guiding visitors into the experience. Located adjacent to the bay, the Binhai Bay New Area can be seen from the Guangzhou–Shenzhen Riverside Expressway. Facing the sea and backed by the city, the white architectural cluster of MIXC VILLAGE resembles an island floating along the coastline, with the blue sky and ocean forming its natural backdrop. Both symbolically and spatially, the installation establishes the opening chapter of the project’s narrative retail experience, conveying the spirit of “free at ease” across the skyline. Serving as a landmark at the primary commercial entrance, the installation is highly visible from afar, whether by day or night, and from approaching vehicles, reinforcing its presence at the city scale while guiding visitors to the main entry. A Breathing Dynamic Membrane Drawing inspiration from the imagery of clouds, the form of the installation extracts the soft yet dynamic characteristics of cloud geometry. Through 3D modeling, eight spherical surfaces are dissolved and merged into a single, smooth ring-shaped volume, balancing between the symbolic imagination of "clouds" and the soft, organic shape of a real cloud. Incorporating the construction logic of air membrane structures, the form ultimately converges into a symmetrical geometry, maintaining its distinctive features while enhancing the structural fidelity of the air membrane design. The form also takes into account the balance between weight and volume ratios during the design process, ensuring the installation achieves sufficient buoyancy and smooth ascension, while also meeting specific wind resistance requirements. The installation’s light and expressive appearance relies on a coordinated internal system. To adapt to the site’s day–night temperature variations, it continuously monitors air pressure and dynamically adjusts the ratio of air to helium, repeatedly inflating and deflating throughout the day to maintain the stability and fullness of the membrane form. Following this "breathing" rhythm, the cloud installation does not remain at a fixed height but appears to possess its own life, gently rising and falling between 3, 8, and 20 meters at different times of the day. The coordinated control between the central and peripheral hoists enables such a dynamic movement. Complemented by a timed misting system, the installation evokes the sensation of a real cloud, bringing a refreshing atmosphere to the entrance plaza. Another key system ensures safety. The wind speed monitoring system constantly senses the surrounding environment, and if it detects wind speeds exceeding the safe operational threshold, the installation will automatically descend to a safe low-altitude height, ensuring stability and control despite changes in environment. Cloud Theater in the Night Sky In contrast to its pristine appearance during the day, the installation gradually transforms with the changing sky over Binhai Bay at sunset. From golden afterglow to pink horizons, layers of color softly diffuse across the surface of the cloud, as if it were dissolving into the sky itself. As night falls, the cloud begins to shimmer with a rippling glow, reminiscent of the sea surrounding the island. Following the narrative that “the cloud records a day in MIXC Village, transforming villagers’ adventures into a cinematic sky through the magic of light and shadow, and becoming a lighthouse guiding sailors to the village,” the cloud’s lighting unfolds a dynamic performance. Patterns and colors constantly shift, interweaving imagery of waves, the rising sun, rosy clouds, and starry skies, inspiring viewers’ imagination and emotional resonance. Accompanied by gentle mist, the interplay of light and vapor creates a deeper, dreamlike atmosphere at the entrance plaza. The nighttime scene is thus reactivated, transforming the installation into a captivating visual focal point that invites visitors to pause, gather, and linger. Implementation & Realization The final realization of the installation relies on the integrated coordination of multiple systems, including the air bladder, membrane material, piping, misting system, lighting, and intelligent control systems. Through the orchestration of these components, the design concept is fully translated into a spatial experience. During implementation, the project underwent several rounds of technical refinement. Based on engineering calculations, extensive sample productions and full-scale (1:1) factory prototyping were conducted to repeatedly test and verify key details such as membrane performance, surface patterning, mist distribution, and tethering structures. Dedicated design solutions were also developed for the fixation of water pipes and spray nozzles, ensuring they remain stable and reliable on the membrane surface while preserving the overall visual integrity. At the same time, multiple buoyancy and misting tests were carried out during the factory stage. Combined with on-site installation and adjustment, these preparations made the overall construction process more efficient and controllable, ensuring that the installation faithfully reflects the intended design quality. - Conclusion The gateway art installation created by PILLS for China Resources MIXC VILLAGE Binhai Shopping Village uses the imagery of a cloud to construct a narrative transition from urban space to a resort-like experience. This gently floating cloud serves not only as a visual landmark guiding visitors but also as the spatial anchor of the project’s IP storyline, "The Voyage to Fantasy Island". Through an innovative membrane structure and intelligent control system, the installation achieves a seamless integration of physical form and dynamic experience—modulating the microclimate with mist during the day and creating a dreamlike atmosphere with light and shadow at night, reflecting the spatial philosophy of “free at ease” with technical precision. Its multi-scale recognizability and interactive design elevate the commercial entrance beyond a conventional marker, transforming it into a systemic medium that connects the city, the brand, and the emotional experience. More than an art installation, the project represents a spatial response to the paradigm of “next-generation slow commerce.” In an era of rational consumption, it generates emotional value through experiential scenography and awakens the imagination of everyday life through spatial storytelling—ultimately allowing the commercial environment to truly become “the exit of the city and the entrance to life.” Project Name: Dongguan MIXC VILLAGE IP Installation Project Type: Spatial Narrative Planning & Installation Design Project Location: Binhai Bay New Area, Dongguan Client: China Resources Land Design Period: 2024–2025 Design Firm: PILLS Principal Designer: Zigeng Wang Project Manager: Wen Zhao Project Lead: Canqi Mu Design Team: Yuqing Ren, Manying Wang, Xingzhu Jiang, Zi Ye, Fangni Wu, Maoyang Liao, Yiran Zhao, Qingyang Zhang, Kangchun Sun, Jinyu Wei Structural Consultants: Xiongdi Zhang， bespoke. Sur-Mesure Engineering Studio，Zhun Zhang Landscape Design: Change Studio Lighting Consultant: TS Lighting Design (Shanghai) Firm Fabrication & Implementation: Hangzhou Gauss Inflatable Tech Co., Ltd.; Lezao Art Project Management Company Photography: Siming Wu, Bo Zhang, Holi Landscape Photography, PILLS