Chapter 533 - This was All because I Accurately Figured Boss Pei’s Character Out! (1/2)

May 30th, Monday…

Liang Qingfan brought the blueprint for the Golden Maze to Thriller Hostel.

Over the week, he had been working as hard as he could. However, instead of feeling tortured, he felt pure excitement.

Architects could spend very little or a lot of time on blueprints. Some real estate companies even stipulate in their contracts that architects must produce drawings overnight upon receiving the budget and design requirements, to achieve higher turnover.

That was a more extreme example, and it was neither reasonable nor humane. Still, it was enough to show how miserable an architect’s life was.

To Liang Qingfan, the Golden Maze was not the project with the tightest timeline and the most torturous schedule that he had ever received. Instead, it was the one that excited him the most.

There were three main reasons for this: he was being paid more than enough, his client was not micro-managing or breathing down his neck to make changes, and there was a lot of room for creativity in the interesting task.

Any architect would be filled with inspiration and passion if he was free to design the mall any way he wanted, and he had the authority to ask for more funds if he wanted.

When he arrived at Thriller Hostel’s office, Chen Kangtuo and Shi Zherui were already waiting there.

“Sorry for making you wait so long. Let me explain the plan for the Golden Maze. I didn’t have time to perfect some details so I will need you to work on it later, Teacher Shi.”

Shi Zherui nodded quickly. “Yes, of course.”

Liang Qingfan started explaining his own design using the blueprint. “After conducting field surveys, I realized that this old factory is relatively empty, and it has strong plasticity. However, if we want to turn it into a maze as Boss Pei requested, the surface area seems lacking.

“After all, the shops have to be big enough to store their products. What’s more, to ensure that the shops are hidden, the surface area of the maze has to be big enough as well.

“So, at once, I thought about making use of the fact that the factory is so tall. We will stagger the levels of the Golden Maze and utilize the height of the shopping mall. The shops would also be staggered, forming a three-dimensional maze.

“At the same time, this staggered-level approach allows us to segment areas for rest and viewing. Visitors could rest in the resting area and see two or three shops from afar. That would drive them to look for shops they had not found earlier after resting. After all, they would already have seen how a few of the shops look like. It might trigger their desire to see more.

“Of course, seeing them and finding them are two completely different things.

“There would be exits in all resting and viewing areas. Under normal circumstances, those exits would be hidden. They would look no different from other paths in the maze. However, in emergency situations, signs would light up so that visitors can move quickly and exit the mall.

“As for the construction period… We will have to purchase steel in large quantities. However, we won’t be forking out the money so we can ignore the cost.

“As for the style, I have a simple rendering here. Boss Pei requested for a resplendent effect, but I think it won’t be easy to cover the entire mall in pure gold. It would tire visitors’ eyes, and the mall would look incredibly tacky. People might take one look at it and think about nouveau riche who wear huge, golden chains. It’ll fall far short of the style we’re going for.

“I’m thinking that the entire maze would look fundamentally the same. To ensure the unity of the style, we can think about using luxurious and high-end materials, as well as specific types of lighting. That would create a sense of luxury but avoid tackiness.

“On top of that, the details of various areas where the shops are located can be done differently. For example, figurines and merchandise could be sold at shops that appeal to younger people. Red which symbolizes life, vitality, and boundlessness… and orange which symbolizes buoyancy and wealth… can be the theme colors.

“High-quality products and souvenirs could be sold at shops that appeal to more mature people. Blue, which symbolizes rationality and peace, could be the theme color.

“Couples’ headwear and themed costumes could be sold in cozier shops, and the embellishments could be in burgundy.

“Shops selling interesting gadgets can be in purple, which gives a sense of mystery. At the same time, we need to note that purple and gold are relatively rich colors that might cause spatial imbalance. That means we might have to use colors like white to balance things out here and there.

“All of these shops must have a passage for employees, which would be closed to all other visitors. That would make it easier for goods to be transported. Moreover, it would save employees the trouble of having to walk through the entire maze each time they go to work.

“We can also have random vendors in special areas around the maze, who would sell interesting little gadgets.

“That way, customers can use their general surroundings to look for a certain shop or region. They could also be assured that they’re on the right path. “After all, Boss Pei only asked us to create a maze to give visitors an interesting shopping experience and not to dissuade them from buying anything. We would have to give visitors appropriate hints along the way to encourage exploration and mystery but prevent them from losing motivation just because the shops are too hard to find.

“That’s the general idea. Do either of you has any opinions?”

After briefly explaining the design, Liang Qingfan looked up at the two other men.

At the same time, Chen Kangtuo and Shi Zherui answered, “No! It’s great!”

Liang Qingfan immediately looked embarrassed. “If either of you have other thoughts, please tell me. It’s normal for clients to request for the design to be edited. Don’t feel embarrassed.”

Chen Kangtuo shook his head. “No, I just think the design is perfect! I like everything, including the fact that visitors can see other shops from the resting area and that different shopping regions would have different color themes.