Kaohsiung is the second-largest city of Taiwan and is today struggling to overcome the effects of the rapid development of its industrial zone. In this respect, Star Place is a project of overriding importance in view of its central location and the high social ranking of department stores in Asia. Because the structure of this 16-storey luxury shopping centre had previously been determined by a Taiwanese office, UNStudio did not have a column-free space at its disposal in the further development of the scheme. The architects therefore designed a generous 12-storey atrium with panorama lifts and crowned by a glass roof. The fascinating spiralling effect of this space was achieved by turning the escalators by ten degrees from floor to floor.