Situated in Taipei Songshan District, Taiwan, Core Pacific City is probably the weirdest shopping mall in Asia.

When it first opened, it was touted as the worlds first truly 24 hour mall and Asias first city within a city complex. Covering a total area of 205, 000 sq. m, this urban property was designed by Jon Jerde, known as, the Pablo Picasso of the architecture world. Opened in 2001, Living Mall is built in a design that combines an L-shaped building and the biggest globe structure in the world. The building looks like a gigantic golf ball being embraced by a stone sarcophagus. With a unique design, the mall has a total of nineteen floors 12 above-ground stories and 7 underground levels. The sphere is 11 stories tall and made of granite imported from Finland, while the L-shaped portion is made of granite from Spain.

The structure incorporated a special spherical design spanning over 135,000 sq. m. of shopping space, with over 15,000 sq. m. of lawn surrounding the building. Living Mall offers a comfortable, elegant shopping environment with various intimate services such as lost & found, nursery, baby car, wheelchair, and shopping consultations. The fourth floor is a Broadway-themed music cafe, Elite books on the tenth floor, and Xland on the 12th floor all operate until 2am. Jerde won the 2002 Gold Nugget Special Award of Excellence at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference/Western Building Show for its effort.

Build a Shopping Mall Cost

How much does it cost to develop a shopping mall?
There are a huge number of variables in such a question. For one thing, shopping malls are different from all other retail store construction projects because they have a huge number size differences, they do not use the same construction techniques or configurations, and a great deal of variation can appear when site conditions are difficult. For the purpose of this discussion we will look at the development of a tradition structure with partitions for retail stores, finish materials, and some display fronts. The building of a shopping mall requires an architect or an architectural firm, a team of subcontractors, a knowledgeable contractor, and a cooperative developer/owner to get the job done in a reasonable time frame. In the United States, the average mall will be sized at approximately 56,212 square feet and will have two-floors, four "anchor" stores, and a length roughly four times greater than its depth.

According to Hawkins Research, Inc., most mall projects use materials and techniques that fall under the "Best" classifications to keep insurances and bonding at their lowest prices. Such a building would run at an average of$24.9 million to complete. This does not include acquisition of the land or any demolition costs, however.

The above figures place this construction at a $442 per square foot cost, though a national average of stands between $325 and $450 for many mall projects. This pricing structure assumes that all labor is "unionized" and if this were not the case the "open shop" pricing would adhere to the following averages carpenters, masons and excavators charge an average of $70 per hour, electricians between $65 to $85 per hour,painters between $20 and $35 per hour and plumbers between $45 and $65 per hour. Materials would cost around $11.92 million, labor would cost roughly$9.9 million, and the machine costs would stand at roughly $1.2 million.

Cost breakout
What is included:

Foundation of reinforced concrete; Roof made of steel beams on steel columns with panelized 1/2 inch plywood sheathing and five-ply insulation; Sheet vinyl and carpet floors; Interior walls of gypsum board; A suspended acoustic ceiling; Recessed fluorescent lighting in modular plastic panels; Exterior walls of brick face; Plumbing featuring six good fixtures per 4;000 square feet; Display fronts would include aluminum float glass double-doors for all entrances and anchor stores, finished walls, bulkheads, and lighting; Heating and cooling systems would include suspended heaters and cooling ducts along with all required equipment; Security systems would be in place, including smoke and heat detectors along with motion systems; Complete communication systems would include both indoor and outdoor sound; Freight and passenger elevators along with escalator and stairwells would be included; All plumbing, masonry, carpentry, painting, and electrical services as needed; Any necessary mezzanines and office space would be covered; and All doors; partitions; and even some property improvements would usually be included as well.

Most owners rely on both an architect and a contractor, and the architect will require approximately 17% of the total building budget;

An architect or architectural team will: o Determine the scope of the project and establish a preliminary budget; o Draft list of proposed work, budget, and outline of plans;

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Create the schematic design and draft floor plans with elevation drawings. Then work with any structural engineers and meet withplanning agencies to verify any requirements; Finalize drawings and incorporate all details about materials and finishes, any fixtures or equipment, and all systems in the structure; Serve as the project manager and review the plans with any requiredlocal agencies while also obtaining necessary permits. (If contractors are to be used it is at this point that they must be selected); Serve in an advisory capacity to select contractor and help the client through the bid review process as well; Complete construction documents; Administer the construction, ensure that contractor's requests for payments are accurate and that all "final" details are corrected or finished by the contractor; and Based on figures given the architect on this project would receive from$4.23 million for their services.

A contractor will: o Provide the services and materials required for the entire job; o Hire subcontractors according to need; o Suggest plans and ideas to architect/owner to help them meet goals; o Deliver final cleanup of entire job site; o Pull all permits for work and utility installation; and o For doing all of the day to day management of the project the contractor earns around 14% of the budget and could account formore than $3 million in markup and indirect fees.