Platinum Architecture, Building and Structure Design · 2021
Hengqin International Financial Center Office
by Aedas
- A' Design Award 2021 Platinum Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Awarded April 15, 2021
- CLIENT: Zhuhai Huafa Group Co. Ltd.
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 216,985
- Verification code 67523D0E80 · Verify this award
About Hengqin International Financial Center Office
Hengqin International Financial Center is a mixed-use tower located on Hengqin CBD Island. The building combines office, conference, exhibition, apartment and retail functions in one whole. Inspired by an ancient Chinese painting known as the Kowloon map, the tower has a continuous spiral form that rises from the ground and splits into four crowns. The height reaches 339 meters, and the typical floor plan measures 44.8 meters in width and depth. Digital modeling and parametric design were used to rationalize the facade panels and control construction cost.
The Hengqin International Financial Center Office by Aedas represents a distinguished achievement in contemporary supertall architecture, demonstrating the firm's sophisticated command of parametric design methodologies and their capacity to synthesize technological innovation with expressive formal poetry. The tower emerges from its coastal development context as a singular landmark, its helical facade system creating a continuously transforming visual experience as the building's profile shifts from varying vantage points and lighting conditions throughout the day. The architects appear to have drawn inspiration from natural growth patterns, with the converging vertical fins suggesting the unfurling geometry of plant forms or the dynamic spiral of ascending energy. This biomimetic approach reflects broader contemporary movements toward architecture that acknowledges organic precedents while employing advanced computational design tools to achieve previously impossible formal complexities. The building's proportional system demonstrates careful attention to classical principles of harmonic division, with the tower's slender profile and tapered crown creating an elegant silhouette against the sky that speaks to universal human aspirations toward transcendence and achievement. The material palette of highly reflective glazing transforms the structure into a responsive surface that captures and refracts its atmospheric environment, dissolving the boundary between building and sky while creating ever-changing chromatic effects. The podium element provides grounded horizontality that anchors the vertical thrust, establishing a dialogue between earthbound human scale and aerial aspiration that has characterized monumental architecture across cultures. Viewers might contemplate how this structure embodies contemporary possibilities for architecture to serve simultaneously as functional infrastructure, urban landmark, and sculptural art, inviting reflection on the evolving relationship between human ambition and technological capability.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The project is located in Hengqin CBD Island and classified as comprehensive mix-used land, including office, conference, exhibition, apartment and retail. All functions are planned as a whole to forge the project into landmark building.
Inspired by the "Kowloon map", the project has a unique, continuous and spiral shape rising from the ground to the sky to express speed, power, and vitality. The design is an attempt at embodying a convergence of energy in architectural form. - Dimensions & Packaging
- The height of the project is 339.0 meters. The typical floor plan of the tower is 44.8 meters depth and width.
- Production Technology
- In order to achieve this unique form, lots of digital technologies have been applied. We used 3d modeling software to create continuous freeform which splits into 4 tower crown from an elegant shape. By using parametric design technology and coding calculation, detailed façade panels were designed and rationalized to achieve both appearance and economic efficiency. We also minimized the type of glass used in this project and successfully guaranteed the smooth construction and cost control.
- Project Duration
- The project is designed from 2013 to 2015. The construction is started in February 2016 and finished in March 2020 in Zhuhai, Guangdong, PRC.
- Research
- The design team has conducted in-depth research on the local history and urban development history of Zhuhai, and also conducted a lot of design test to capture the most suitable traditional image for this site. For different traditional cultural images, the design team has done related massing study to determine the final design through comparison and analysis.
- Inspiration
- The most innovative part of the project is its unique and powerful shape, which is inspired by an ancient Chinese painting “Kowloon map” and realized with plenty of digital techniques.
In order to achieve such elegant form, state-of-the-art digital techniques are used to rationalize the complex shape. All façade of the project is digital rationalized to ensure construction efficiency and cost control. This is a combination of traditional Chinese totem and contemporary architecture development. - Image Credits
- Image #1: CreatAR Images, 2020.
Image #2: CreatAR Images, 2020.
Image #3: CreatAR Images, 2020.
Image #4: CreatAR Images, 2020.
Image #5: CreatAR Images, 2020.
Video Credits: Aedas, 2020.
Colors of Hengqin International Financial Center Office
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