Goettsch Partners completes mixed-use tower in R&F Yingkai Square
By David Malone, Associate Editor
Located in the new city center of Zhujiang, Goettsch Partners (GP) recently finished work on a 971-foot, 66-story mixed-use tower. Comprising 114,500 sm of office space, 10,000 sm of retail, and a 208-key Park Hyatt hotel at the top, the R&F Yingkai Square mixed-use tower is one component of a larger master plan of mixed use towers in Guangzhou. The Park Hyatt hotel occupies the top floors of the building with the office space existing below. Below grade, subway connections are also included.
On the design front, GP derived the building’s asymmetrically carved corners and the veining of vertical strips on the façade, which compress and stretch as they rise, from local bamboo plants. The square shape of the tower was used to work in tandem with the geometric rigidity of the street grid while the carved out corners, which look as though Paul Bunyan took a swing at the building with his giant axe and chipped bits of it away, are meant to highlight unique views available at various heights overlooking a nearby central green and the Pearl River Delta.
An indoor infinity pool runs the entire length of one side of the building with views of the Guangzhou skyline and an outdoor roof garden on level 70 provides outdoor dining or relaxation space.
The mixed-use tower has already become a distinctive addition to the city’s skyline.
“With its tight urban site, diverse functions and direct connections to transit, the building has quickly made an impact,” Paul De Santis, LEED AP, Principal and Senior Designer at GP says in a press release. “The building establishes a unique silhouette in the rapidly evolving skyline.”
The building is meant to offer a unique blend of being connected to the urban street life while also providing an intimate, luxurious experience in the upper-level hotel. The Tokyo-based firm, Super Potato, designed the hotel interiors.
