Location: Hangzhou, China

Design Principal: Ping Jiang, FAIA

Client: Shimao Group

Time：2015-2022

Gross Floor Area: 370,000 sq m

Type: Mixed-Use, Office / Residential / Retail

Design Team:

Sean Lu, Xiaohai Lin, Hong Li, Kai Ding, Dan Tang, Alberto Canero, Ratima Suwanrumpha, Boyang Li, Ben Xie, Di Fan, Xiaoxu Sun, Fan Yang, ingrong Chen, Wenjia Wang, Tong Zheng, Yushi Zheng, Kaini Huang, Jin Meng, Guanting Fang, Fangzi He, Xiaowei Wang, Yu Song, Peng Li, Chen Chen, Zhongzhou Jiang, Di Wu, Juntao Hu, Wei Zhang, Yuandi Nong, Tinglei Zhang, Xinyi Lu, Huiwen Wang etc.

Consultants:

Collaborating Local Design Institute: Zhejiang Province Institute of Architectural Design and Research

Master Planning: SOL/LAVA

Structure Engineer: LERA

MEP Engineer: WSP

Landscape Design Consultant: AECOM

Façade Consultant: Schmidlin

Interior Designer: HPID(Tower A)/ MATRIX DESIGN(Tower B)/ G&K (E Building)

Shimao Riverfront Wisdom Towers is a large scale mixed-use development at height of 272 meters, providing 370,000 square meters of new office, residential and retail space. The design of Shimao Hangzhou Wisdom Towers is intended as an exploration of vertical urbanism and optimizing public open space for high density urban mixed-use development. This project is conceived as a significant urban gateway, creating a new urban node for the burgeoning district of Hangzhou. The abstracted curvilinear pattern on tower surface animates the façade, reflecting the dynamics of Qiantang River. Wrapping around with low-iron glass, these twin towers are further delineated with vertical articulations, creating a kinetic surface effect.

The development is organized as five buildings surrounding a green, public space to stimulate casual gathering and exchange. Towers A and B are centerpiece to the development, accommodating office and residential use. A 3-story annex provides retail space and community supporting facilities. The site is open from all sides, attracting visitors from all directions.

In contrast to many form-driven tall buildings in the city, the twin towers in this project stand with a restrained, simple beauty. Unlike the common trend of seeking height and spectacle in the design of high-rise buildings in China, the Wisdom Towers stand quietly on the banks of the Qiantang River with a restrained elegance and open posture, responding to the local cultural characteristics of the city.

In collaboration with New York based structural engineering firm LERA, the design team adopted a dual structural system with mega-braced frame and core walls, optimizing the structure for maximum efficiency and resulting a slender form. Shimao Riverfront Wisdom Towers are centered around the creation of open space and urban connectivity for the development, while reflecting the city’s ethos in which traditional and modern elements coexist.