Pei Cobb Freed & Partners has unveiled its
design for an iconic tower to be erected
on the gateway site of a planned business
development in the Nanshan District of
Shenzhen, China. The new building, which will
be completed in 2017, will house the South
China offices of China Minmetals Corporation,
one of the world’s leading metal companies
and the largest iron and steel trader in China.
The architects have carefully sited the
new 29-story tower to be respectful of
its neighbors and allow for extensively
landscaped public space at ground level.
The tower is distinguished from its strictly
orthogonal neighbors by its gently sloping
north and south facades, which extend above
the main roof to form expressive apexes at the
northeast and southeast corners. Resembling
wind-filled sails, these arcing facades are
balanced by a contrasting parallelogram
geometry that creates mast-like silhouettes
on the other two sides. “Our aim was to evoke
a timeless form,” says Yvonne Szeto, design
partner for the project. “A sail is both graceful
and auspicious, taking its energy freely from
nature.”
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