Much like OMA's daring design scheme for the CCTV Headquarters building, China's latest skyscraper, Guanghzou Circle, is meant to break away from the traditional skyscraper design ethos of the west—and it does so in dramatic fashion.
The 452-foot-tall, 914,000-sf building takes the shape of a giant doughnut, or more accurately described, a super-sized ribbon spool, with the floor space housed in a series of boxes suspended between two massive "wheels."
The project's architect, Milan-based Joseph di Pasquale Architect, drew inspiration from China's numerological tradition of feng shui, namely the jade bi-disk, which served as the royal symbol of the ancient Chinese dynasty that reigned in the area some 2,000 years ago. The architect describes the form as "an 'urban logo' that works as a reference in the panorama of the city, just as the characters are used instead of the alphabet in Chinese writing."
The interior houses office space and a trading floor for the Guangdong Plastics Exchange, the country's largest plastics trading floor, where some £30 billion worth of plastic raw materials and goods are traded annually, according to Sky News.
Related Stories
| Mar 12, 2014
AIA gives support to legislation to assist architecture students with debt
The National Design Services Act will give architecture students relief from student loan debt in return for community service.
| Mar 12, 2014
New CannonDesign database allows users to track facility assets
The new software identifies critical failures of components and systems, code and ADA-compliance issues, and systematically justifies prudent expenditures.
| Mar 11, 2014
7 (more) awe-inspiring interior designs [slideshow]
The seven winners of the 41st Interior Design Competition and the 22nd Will Ching Design Competition include projects on four different continents.
| Mar 11, 2014
Freelon Group to join Perkins+Will
The Freelon Group concentrates on museums, libraries, universities and other civic and institutional clients; Perkins+Will plans to incorporate this specialization into their design repertory.
| Mar 10, 2014
Meet Tally – the Revit app that calculates the environmental impact of building materials
Tally provides AEC professionals with insight into how materials-related decisions made during design influence a building’s overall ecological footprint.
Sponsored | | Mar 10, 2014
A high-performance barn
Bastoni Vineyards replaces a wooden barn with an efficient metal building used for maintenance, storage, and hosting events.
| Mar 10, 2014
Field tested: Caterpillar’s Cat B15 rugged smartphone
The B15 is billed by Cat as “the most progressive, durable and rugged device available on the market today.”
| Mar 10, 2014
5 rugged mobile devices geared for construction pros
BD+C readers share their most trusted smartphone and tablet cases. The editors select some of their faves, too.
| Mar 7, 2014
Thom Mayne's high-tech Emerson College LA campus opens in Hollywood [slideshow]
The $85 million, 10-story vertical campus takes the shape of a massive, shimmering aircraft hangar, housing a sculptural, glass-and-aluminum base building.
| Mar 7, 2014
Learning from common leadership errors
As a leader in the AEC world, you’ll likely find yourself making certain mistakes over the course of your career. Here are a few common leadership errors that can easily be avoided.