KPF completes landmark office tower in Shenzhen

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is pleased to announce the completion of the China Resources Headquarters, a 400 meter tall commercial office tower located in the Houhai District of Shenzhen.

Architect: KPF
Client: China Resources
Location: Shenzhen, China
Size: 210,000 sq.m.
Height: 400 m
Photography: Tim Griffith

From the architect: The building anchors the KPF-planned development that stitches together a number of uses – retail, residential, and office amenities – with 2,000 square meters of public space and the city’s greenbelt and waterfront. As a whole, the tower and complex invigorate Shenzhen’s urban fabric while providing one of the country’s premier companies with a visual icon symbolizing its historic growth and prominent stature. The building’s opening was celebrated by representatives from KPF and China Resources, which also celebrated its 80^th anniversary.

“It was an honor to work on this headquarters tower with China Resources, one of the nation’s oldest and most important companies,” said KPF President James von Klemperer. “The conical tower design shows a geometric boldness that reflects China Resources’ pride in their past and confidence in the future.  By marking the skyline, it will be one of the most recognizable buildings of Shenzhen, China’s leading technology city.”

Inspired by the shape of the winter bamboo shoot, China Resources Headquarters features a light yet stable tube and diagrid structural system that is expressed in its tapered, sculptural form. Rendered in pre-fabricated column and steel units, the system affords column-free interiors, in turn allowing greater expression of the tower’s radial symmetry and more boutique floorplates as it rises. The 56 vertical columns converge into 28 columns at the lower and upper sections of the tower, forming a series of entry portals at the tower’s base and merging to a singular point at its peak. At these junctures, faceted, triangular glass panels illuminate at night with a jewel-like brilliance across Shenzhen’s waterfront business district. The “sky hall” at the top of the tower is a conical, cathedral-like space offering visitors stunning views of the diagrid spire – it is one the few high-rises in the world that is occupiable at its absolute highest point.

The third tallest building in the city, China Resources Headquarters joins KPF’s portfolio of supertall buildings around the world. In Shenzhen, KPF designed the recently-completed Ping An Finance Centre and One Shenzhen Bay Landmark Tower are the 1^st, and 6^th tallest towers in the city, respectively. Globally, the firm has designed five of the world’s ten tallest towers: Ping An Finance Centre, the fourth tallest at 599 meters; Lotte World Tower in Soul, South Korea, the fifth tallest at 554.5 meters; Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, the seventh tallest at 530 meters; and the Shanghai World Financial Centre, the tenth tallest at 492 meters.

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