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
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index flat in May, according to AIA
After a slight decline in April, the Architecture Billings Index was up a tenth of a point to 42.9 in May. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Aug 11, 2010
Architecture Billings Index drops to lowest level since June
Another stall in the recovery for the construction industry as the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dropped to its lowest level since June. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the August ABI rating was 41.7, down slightly from 43.1 in July. This score indicates a decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).
| Aug 11, 2010
RTKL names Lance Josal president and CEO
Lance K. Josal FAIA has been named President and CEO of RTKL Associates Inc., the international planning, design and engineering firm. Josal succeeds RTKL’s current President and CEO, David C. Hudson AIA, who is retiring from the firm. The changes will take effect on 1 September 2009.
| Aug 11, 2010
Balfour Beatty agrees to acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million
Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction, investment and services group, has agreed to acquire Parsons Brinckerhoff for $626 million. Balfour Beatty executives believe the merger will be a major step forward in accomplishing a number of Balfour Beatty’s objectives, including establishing a global professional services business of scale, creating a leading position in U.S. civil infrastructure, particularly in the transportation sector, and enhancing its global reach.
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction unemployment rises to 17.1% as another 64,000 construction workers are laid off in September
The national unemployment rate for the construction industry rose to 17.1 percent as another 64,000 construction workers lost their jobs in September, according to an analysis of new employment data released today. With 80 percent of layoffs occurring in nonresidential construction, Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said the decline in nonresidential construction has eclipsed housing’s problems.
| Aug 11, 2010
Billings at U.S. architecture firms exceeds $40 billion annually
In the three-year period leading up to the current recession, gross billings at U.S. architecture firms increased nearly $16 billion from 2005 and totaled $44.3 billion in 2008. This equates to 54 percent growth over the three-year period with annual growth of about 16 percent. These findings are from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Business of Architecture: AIA Survey Report on Firm Characteristics.
| Aug 11, 2010
CHPS debuts high-performance building products database
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) made a new tool available to product manufacturers to help customers identify building products that contribute to sustainable, healthy, built environments. The tool is an online, searchable database where manufacturers can list products that have met certain environmental or health standards ranging from recycled content to materials that contribute to improved indoor air quality.
| Aug 11, 2010
ICC launches green construction code initiative for commercial buildings
The International Code Council has launched its International Green Construction Code (IGCC) initiative, which will aim to reduce energy usage and the carbon footprint of commercial buildings.Entitled “IGCC: Safe and Sustainable By the Book,” the initiative is committed to develop a model code focused on new and existing commercial buildings. It will focus on building design and performance.
