Category: Office & Civic

The plot is located in the north-western part of Beijing and is defined by streets on two sides:
A still-to-be-built main road in its north connecting the Second Ring Road (encompassing the ancient city centre) with the National Library area, and a smaller street in the west leading to the north gate of the Beijing Zoo.
By concentrating the building in the east side of the plot, it receives wider east-west facades which are favorable to an office building, even in China where south orientation is almost a must.
RhineScheme decided to take advantage of the particular plot features by positioning a large public square at the street corner. An open – and relatively protected – sunken plaza bounded by a simple landscape design will create a place for meeting and relaxation, giving a distinct name card to the owner-investor and to its cultural matrix.

The first three floors and the first underground floor of the 60-meters-tower are for retail and catering, while the remaining twelve levels provide office space. As an answer to the quite particular company culture, the main semipublic functions such as bar-restaurant, exhibition area and conference hall are placed in the top floor. Other areas for meeting and communication are appropriately located close to several overlooking terraces.
The company’s identity is reflected in the skin of the building which makes a clear distinction between (semi-)public areas and the places for work. Since IPPH mainly deals with publishing, the office facades create the vivid image of a book shelf, with bigger and smaller, thinner and wider volumes.
The project centers on the concept of cultural exchange, and on a well-going interrelation between different functions and users and between public, semi-public and private spheres.

Location & Task

The group of high-rises is located in the newly developed “High-tech Headquarter District”, part of Nanshan City District, one of the most vivid and populous districts of Shenzhen.

4 high-rise buildings had to be planned, for 4 different high-tech research companies. The towers should have a height between 150 – 180 meters. The individual towers should have 50, 60, 70 and 80,000 sqm GFA above ground.

Any of the 4 companies had its own requirements. But the uses were quite similar. We could imagine them more or less as regular office towers. Commercial functions had to be provided in the podium levels.

We decided for an approach that uses the same design parameters for all 4 buildings, and create individual shapes only by variations of the same basic language. In our belief, the four towers would have to look like a family, or better like 4 brothers or 4 sisters, in which none of the siblings feels underprivileged, even though they have different sizes and heights … and market value.

Façade Concept

The façade concept then strived for a contemporary re-interpretation of Mies van der Rohe’s design principles. Still today, constructors are amazed by Mies’ buildings through their impressive simplicity, their refined details, their interplay of light and shadow, and by their timeless elegance.

A new interpretation of Mies’ approach had to bring something contemporary as addition: A sustainability concept. Energy gains from sunlight are incorporated in the façade by cladding the vertical folded glass elements with photovoltaic panels.

But also LED screens are integrated that can create exciting illumination of the building.

From the basic idea of vertical lines, of glass and folding elements and multiple uses, different façade typologies have been developed for:

– Office uses / – Dormitories / – Green (wintergarden) façades / – Podium Levels / – Technical Levels / – Roof Gardens & Sky Terraces.

Architecture & Integration into the City

The architecture is calm, logical and reasonable; it is however not monotonous. And it incorporates elements that satisfy the need of each company to have its own, individual building with recognizable façade features.

The 4 cuboids with identical footprint (of 40*50 meters) have been sculpted to distinct shapes by cutting each of them in a unique way.

By terraced volumes, the façade is sub-divided into sections of different heights that further contribute to the individual shape of each tower.

The tower tops – place for spacious roof gardens – are forming the glazed corona of each building, clearly visible from far away.

The family of buildings forms a square in its middle. From the middle, following the three storeys podium, there is a cross of pedestrian streets – lined by commercial facilities. A rather European urban setting forms the common “living room” of the development.

The important connection with the entire district is however taking place on the 3^rd level. An elevated pedestrian street with easy public access from the street or through pedestrian bridges connects the project with the neighbouring plots.

The elevated street is aligned by commercial and by semi-public uses like canteens or auditoriums which make this level a vibrant and attractive place, not only for the office employees.

To sum up

The concept has rules and can evolve. It is simple yet complex. It is economical and rich in optical individuality.

This is how the project can become distinctive within a noisy sea of outbidding vanities.

The tower is made up of 3 different volumes separated by landscaped terraces that provide excellent amenities for users and offer panoramic views.
These volumes are enclosed by a thin glass façade. Vertical steel frames protruding from the glass skin are creating a dynamic pattern and work as sun-shading elements.
Several incisions will open the building to the outside, providing the offices with green gardens, balconies and terraces, which offer a more delicate and welcoming appearance in opposition to the regular skin.

The tower’s podium opens up and becomes permeable as it reaches the ground: A big opening with commercial activities and lush vegetation, accessible to the public, as well as a smaller private entrance for the offices.
The middle volume containing renting offices is the most regular one. It anticipates the changing needs in workplace with large, open spaces that allow flexible use.
The top volume appears to float above the rest; it houses headquarter functions and large open air gardens that cascade over the top levels of the tower with amazing views of Xiamen.
These ‘hanging gardens’ are covered by steel frames that act as a pergola for sun protection, at the same time defining a clear shape of the tower for its urban image.

The building is designed to have minimal impact on the environment. It incorporates sustainable strategies through both passive and active energy-saving measures.

According to the master plan which creates an inner space programmed as office “park”, an overall architectural concept of “rigid outside and soft inside” has been proposed, added by a second concept of “simple outside, delicate inside, overall bright”.

The main requirements for façade planning and open space planning were: Maximizing the office area while creating high-quality spaces to attract different sizes of tenant companies, as well as creating high quality and car-free commercial areas in the center. 

Project overview

Two types of tower buildings can be found: a pair of tower buildings about 80m high, and three high-rises of 68m height. The lower multi-storey volumes in the east and south of the plot, 22m high, are orderly arranged in height, all surrounding a central garden, which will form the highlight of the settlement.

The total construction of nearly 163,000 m² has been realized in several steps, the construction works are finished by the end of 2023.

The high commercial value of the plot have defined the strategy and inspired the open space master plan and especially the façade design.

The comb-like composition of the high rise buildings in the north-west creates a well-shaped courtyard in its center, seeking the connection to the outside with generously designed spaces in-between the buildings. The open space concept achieves atmosphere and scale for both employees and visitors to linger in the area and to maximize the commercial value. 

Facade & open space design

The careful subdivision of the volumes in horizontal direction, as well as the emphasis on vertical lines let the high-rise buildings appear slimmer and improve their proportions.

Horizontal lines are used for the facades of the multi-storey buildings along the central park to improve affinity with natural landscapes, to visually reduce the dimension of the buildings and to contrast with the height of the high-rise buildings. The elegant and pleasant volumes are aiming at creating a high-end, humanized office environment.

Main design motif has been the break-down and downscaling of the massive program into a series of distinct but interrelated volumes with a main people-oriented public square in-between.

Additional, building-linked entrance squares create a dynamic spatial composition.

The lower levels contain canteens and restaurants, meeting facilities, logistics and call center, retail etc. All the lobbies are facing the main road. The inner courtyard is kept car-free, with separate underground car entrances for the high-risers and the multi-storey buildings. The office spaces themselves were designed as open for future modifications with flexible partitions, the façade concept respects and enhances the concept of inner flexibility.
The entire design is based on proportion, stability and containment, suitable for the North of China and for a city that is obviously marked by industrial production and by a western impacted urban structure.

Readable and articulated architecture and material selection which carry a desire for dignity were strategic to achieve this goal.
Light Grey Stone (Granite), copper, brown and white aluminum and glass are the major surface materials, withstanding the harsh climate and aging with certain dignity.