John Portman & Associates (Portman) has been selected to design Tianlong Fortune Center, the first super tall skyscraper tower in Nanning, with a height of 1,312 feet (400 meters). The architectural design competition was led by developer Guangxi Wei Zhuang Real Estate Co., Ltd., and the Nanning Planning Bureau.
Located in the tropical southern portion of China, Nanning is the capital city of Guangxi province and serves as a regional leader in promoting unity among its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Nanning has also hosted the annual China ASEAN Summit in previous years. This building will provide a new headquarters for member companies of the ASEAN Association. Envisioned as a finance and trade center that will be home to various banks and financial consultants, the tower will help spur the economic growth of Nanning and enhance the city’s international presence.
The upper portion of the tower includes a five-star atrium hotel while floors immediately above the hotel provide an exclusive executive club and destination restaurant. The level below the hotel lobby will feature a hotel’s fitness center, pool, restaurant, business center and other amenities. The remainder of the tower is office space.
A special observation complex providing a 360-degree view of the surrounding area features two major levels, one enclosed and another open to the sky in a rooftop garden. A full complement of visitor and tourist facilities will be available at the sky deck, including a gift shop and café.
In addition to the tower, the project includes a podium building connected to the tower via a dynamic glass “mixing box.” Anchored at each corner by banking halls, the eight-story podium building also contains restaurant, retail, fitness, entertainment and conference facilities, and features a roof top garden.
As the goal for this project was to create a unique and powerful symbol for Nanning, the architects created a simple compelling form that would be instantly recognizable all over the world. The high-profile project is to be located along Minzu Boulevard, the primary east-west corridor into Nanning’s central business district. Its unique form begins with a square base that widens out into an octagon in the middle, before elegantly tapering back into a square plan at the top. The glass facets created by the tower’s sculptural form symbolically reflect ASEAN’s logo, which depicts a bundle of harvested rice tied in the middle. +
Related Stories
| Jul 26, 2016
ENGINEERING GIANTS: Firms continue to push innovation
Trends include 3D printing, modular hospitals, and fluid dampers.
| Jul 26, 2016
Top 80 Architecture/Engineering firms
Stantec, HOK, and Callison RTKL once again top Building Design+Construction's 2016 ranking of the largest architecture/engineering firms in the United States.
| Jul 25, 2016
Top 35 Engineering/Architecture Firms
AECOM, Jacobs, and Thornton Tomasetti head Building Design+Construction's 2016 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 25, 2016
Top 100 Architecture Firms
Gensler surpasses $1.1 billion in revenue, topping Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest architecture firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
AIA selects seven winners of healthcare building design award
The National Healthcare Design Awards recognizes functional hospital projects that solve aesthetic, civic, urban, and social concerns. Recipients were selected in three categories this year.
Industrial Facilities | Jul 25, 2016
Snøhetta, Bjarke Ingels among four finalists for S.Pellegrino bottling plant design
A committee will evaluate proposals in September.
Architects | Jul 22, 2016
5 creative approaches to finish standards
With the right mindset, standards can produce great design for healthcare facilities, as VOA's Candace Small explores.
Retail Centers | Jul 21, 2016
MVRDV designs Seoul entertainment district with gold entrance and curtain façade
The 9,800-sm complex will have retail and nightclub space. A plaza separates the two concrete buildings.
Healthcare Facilities | Jul 20, 2016
Process mapping simplifies healthcare design
Charting procedures and highlighting improvement opportunities can lead to developing effective design strategy simulations. GS&P’s Ray Wong writes that process mapping adds value to a project and bolsters team and stakeholder collaboration.
Architects | Jul 20, 2016
AIA: Architecture Billings Index remains on solid footing
The June ABI score was down from May, but the figure was positive for the fifth consecutive month.