The Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)-designed Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza has opened its doors to its office users. The circular 60-story tower takes its place as the tallest building in the central Chinese city. Located in the northeast portion of Zhengzhou, the 919-feet tower’s circular form is a response to the surrounding development’s shape that centers on a manmade lake.
The 2.59-million-square-feet building houses a mixed-use program of offices on its lower floors and a 416-room hotel above. Daylighting was a key driver of the building’s design. Three- to five-story-tall light-gauge painted aluminum screens are configured at an outward cant that enhances interior daylighting through scientifically calculated reflections while protecting the all-glass exterior from solar gain. The screens provide multiple performance and aesthetic-related roles. The same outward cant that aids daylighting allows for a nuanced approach to artificial lighting, providing outboard locations for dramatic nighttime lighting of the building that make the tower a beacon. The screens are located between one and two-meters from the building’s curtain wall—allowing window washing to occur behind the screens. Their visual porosity varies depending on a viewer’s location. When close to the building’s base, the tower appears to be primarily metal; from a distance, the panels are more open and the building’s glass nature is revealed. The rhythmic cant of the screens, combined with their decreasing size as they rise on the building, creates a dynamic movement that gives the building a fine-grained texture that relates to the building’s humanistic aspirations.
The form of the tower tapers slightly as it rises. “We conceived the building as a classical column,” SOM Design Director Ross Wimer says. “Its iconic image comes from this timeless form—adapted with cutting-edge, 21st century technologies to create a building that expresses our time.” These innovations include a heliostat that crowns the building and reflects daylight throughout the hotel atrium. “Like the solar screening, the heliostat is a scientifically-derived element that enhances the experience of daylight for the building’s users,” Wimer says. The device allows daylight to be reflected and focused into the atrium whose surfaces are finished to help drive light deep into the space. Computer-controlled dimmer switches modulate the light level-based on the illumination provided by the reflector, enabling the atrium to consume less energy and generate less heat throughout the year.
Wimer notes that, while not unheard of, circular skyscrapers remain somewhat unusual. Among the best known examples are Bertrand Goldberg’s Marina City in Chicago, Sir Norman Foster’s 30 St. Mary Axe in London, Jean Nouvel’s Torre Agbar in Barcelona, and Adolf Loos’ unbuilt scheme for the Chicago Tribune Tower. +
Related Stories
| Dec 6, 2011
Vivenzio named vice president of building performance practice at Thornton Tomasetti’s New York Office
Vivenzio, a licensed architect in New York and New Jersey, has more than 28 years of experience in architectural project management, construction administration, building diagnostic services and forensic investigation.
| Dec 6, 2011
New office building features largest solar panel system in New Orleans
Woodward Design+Build celebrates grand opening of new green headquarters in Central City.
| Dec 5, 2011
New York and San Francisco receive World Green Building Council's Government Leadership Awards
USGBC commends two U.S. cities for their innovation in green building leadership.
| Dec 5, 2011
Summit Design+Build begins renovation of Chicago’s Esquire Theatre
The 33,000 square foot building will undergo an extensive structural remodel and core & shell build-out changing the building’s use from a movie theater to a high-end retail center.
| Dec 5, 2011
Fraser Brown MacKenna wins Green Gown Award
Working closely with staff at Queen Mary University of London, MEP Engineers Mott MacDonald, Cost Consultants Burnley Wilson Fish and main contractor Charter Construction, we developed a three-fold solution for the sustainable retrofit of the building.
| Dec 5, 2011
RJM Construction begins building Nova Classical Academy in St. Paul
As the general contractor, RJM is constructing the 94,000-sf building that will consolidate the St. Paul school’s two other locations.
| Dec 5, 2011
Gables Residential brings mixed-use building to Houston's Tanglewood area
The design integrates a detailed brick and masonry facade, acknowledging the soft pastel color palette of the surrounding Mediterranean heritage of Tanglewood.
| Dec 5, 2011
SchenkelShultz Architecture designs Dr. Phillips Charities Headquarters building in Orlando
The building incorporates sustainable architectural features, environmentally friendly building products, energy-efficient systems, and environmentally-sensitive construction practices.
| Dec 2, 2011
What are you waiting for? BD+C's 2012 40 Under 40 nominations are due Friday, Jan. 20
Nominate a colleague, peer, or even yourself. Applications available here.
| Dec 2, 2011
Legrand joins White House initiative to spur energy efficiency in commercial buildings
Company agrees to aggressive energy savings and reporting.
