Livat Shanghai

Oak-Clad Social Stair Anchors Human-Centred Communal Hub.

Woods Bagot reimagines Ingka Centers' workplace communal areas with a five-level social stair, fika zones and refined materiality, fostering connection across lobbies, terraces and a multi-sensory showroom.

Ingka Centres tasked Woods Bagot with turning the workplace communal areas at Livat Shanghai into a genuine meeting place that encourages connection, efficiency and everyday usefulness. Working across multiple lobbies and a showroom, the team fused Scandinavian restraint with Shanghai's urban energy to create warm, non-corporate environments. A co-creation process with the client ensured brand values translated into clear spatial moves, material discipline and practical details that support co-working, informal meetings and moments of pause throughout the complex.

The five-level, oak-clad social stair is the heart of the scheme, doubling as circulation, amphitheatre seating and event terrain. Around it, fika zones, libraries and modular furnishings enable easy reconfiguration from work modes to evening gatherings. Curved timber battens sculpt smaller niches within the tall atrium, while the elongated tower lobby is broken down to soften scale and improve wayfinding. On level six, a gallery-led showroom swaps sales tropes for a multi-sensory journey through culture and workplace typologies. Locally sourced materials and planting underline a lighter-footprint approach.

Judges praised the crafted detailing and the ambition of the tiered stair as social infrastructure, noting clear brand expression. Overall, the project sets a credible, replicable benchmark for contemporary communal areas.

The judges said: “The detailing of the white panels against the wood is exquisite,”