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Architects: Foster + Partners
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Runzi Zhu
Text description provided by the architects. Foster + Partners has completed the first office tower in the newly regenerated Suhewan area of Shanghai. The Suhe Centre for China Resources Land forms the centerpiece of the Suhewan East Urban Complex, which introduces a rich mix of functions to the predominantly residential area. The 200-meter, 42-story signature tower is part of the city’s vision to draw development towards the eastern quarter.
The Suhe Centre has obtained LEED Platinum certification and has a Green Building 2 Star rating. This is due to a comprehensive sustainability strategy which includes recycling rainwater for irrigation, intelligent systems for optimizing the indoor environment and air quality monitoring, bicycle parking, and charging spaces.
The building is situated alongside a new urban public green area and Shanghai Suhe Centre MixC, with excellent connections to Line 10 Tiantong Road metro station, acting as a catalyst for bringing people and new businesses to the area. The expressed structure of the tower draws on the industrial aesthetic of the historical Zhejiang Road Bridge and nearby warehouse buildings. The tower’s dark glazing reduces reflective glare and contrasts with the stainless-steel structural frame, which has been pulled away from the corners to maximize views.
Undulating wall panels inside the Tower lobby visually elongate the 11-meter-tall lobby space, creating a grand sense of arrival for the building’s occupants and visitors. Daylight filters through louvers above the entrance canopy to produce dancing shadows across the walls and floor. A unique reception desk is imprinted with a historic map of the Suhe River, to commemorate the history of the site.
The lower levels of the tower capture views of the park to the west. As the building rises above the surrounding low-rise residential fabric it opens up to stunning 360-degree panoramic views. Every corner of the tower is a full-height glass space that frames a unique view of the city.
The column-free, flexible office floorplates have been designed to suit a variety of layouts, from single to multiple tenancies. Every level has detachable floor slabs to allow for connections between them. Along the western façade, the middle section of the building is recessed to allow natural light to flood the office spaces with a row of scenic lifts located within this recess to maximize views of the park and river.
