Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners along with AUBE Conception have won the design competition of the Qianhai Financial Holdings Headquarter Tower, a mixed-use commercial building in the center of the Qianhai district in Shenzhen, China. Rising 220m, the metallic bronze-clad tower will include triple-height sky lobbies, a central atrium, and a skyline pagoda, all elevated and supported within four monumental columns.
.jpg?1624263090 "Courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP)")
The four mega columns built from the ground floor contrast the tower's rectilinearity and allow for the primary slab to be lifted 3 storeys above street level, creating a free-flowing unobscured public space on the ground floor. To further promote the sense of shared community, the architects included a new park, underground retail stores, and connections to the metro within the project.
Three triple-height sky lobbies are integrate within the tower, along with “vertical villages” that frame views of the mountains, Qianhai bay, and river. Each lobby is designed in an organic, sculptural form, and is finished with a metal associated to the view it is capturing: a hue of copper for the riverside, silver for the bay, and gold for the mountains. The tower's rooftop features a reflective glass structure that refracts the sunlight and projects gentle light beams 6 floors down through a central atrium. At night, these vanes reflect the light coming from the interior, creating a rooftop lantern.
Our proposal brings a human scale and outward-facing identity to a tall, elegant, city centre building from street to sky. Expanding on our experience, this discreet building comprises a future-facing, simple, flexible workspace set alongside dynamic expressive focal spaces that, together, will serve the workplace communities within it over many years to come. The street level is given entirely over to active, accessible spaces for everyone; a commitment to the public realm that extends beyond the footprint of the building into a neighboring park. A landmark for the Citizen and for the City." -- Ivan Harbour, Senior Partner, RSHP
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According to Simon Tonks, Senior Associate at RSHP, the project offers a flexible and durable approach with an energy and fabric-efficient solution. The building will prioritize public health with a naturally-ventilated, breathing façade system, open plan floor spaces, and triple height internal and external community spaces, which all cater to a post-pandemic era that promotes connecting individuals with the outdoors.
In another competition organized by Shenzhen Airport, RSHP and China Northeast Architectural Design & Research Institute (CNADRI) have won the competition to design the Terminal 4 Bao’an International Airport in Shenzhen, China. The winning design offers a new 400,000 sqm building with connections to existing and new transport infrastructure, as well as a space that promotes passenger interaction and wellbeing, all while maintaining a safe post-pandemic environment.
