EID Architecture's shimao fuzhou tower in china packs a vertical city of its own

EID architecture has been selected as one of the two finalists in an international competition with its proposal for the shimao north riverfront tower in fuzhou, china. reaching 518 meters in height and with total building area around 437,200 square meters, the tower incorporates offices, retail spaces, cultural venues, hotel amenities, and other facilities such as a museum, a ballroom and a conference center. furthermore, it provides direct access to a subway station, while the roof terrace features a large amphitheater-like space. together with a sequence of event places, ranging from a sunken plaza, to a sculpture garden and a landscaped gathering place for casual encounter and recreational activities, the proposal encloses a vertical city of its own.

a key feature of EID Architecture‘s design of the tower is the introduction of two intertwining and twisting volumes, gently tapering towards the top, creating a dynamic sculptural form while referencing the rolling hill topography and flowing watercourse of the surroundings. the façade becomes more ambitious in the middle and bottom portions of its massing, while a highly efficient floor plan configuration is achieved by limiting the twisting moves as surface manipulation.

developed in collaboration with structural engineers from arup, the shimao fuzhou tower’s innovative structural solution features outrigger trusses coupled with columns of the mega-structure system. working with the twisting envelope, this optimized structural system is engineered to remove the diagonal frames typically associated with such constructions, while it provides maximum efficiency and minimizes the interference to the views by the diagonals. the organic form of the façade is approximated by two dimensional flat panels through parametric design. the substantial amount of white metal panels on the façade contributes to energy performance of the building and reduces light pollution caused by glass curtain walls, while other sustainable strategies include photo-voltaic panels, water harvesting system, recycled building materials, and external shading panels.

project info:

architect: EID Architecture

client: shimao group

location: north riverfront cbd, fuzhou, china

gross floor area: 437,198 sqm

type: supertall mixed-use: office, cultural, hotel, retail, residential

design principal: ping jiang, aia

design team: michael morgan, RIBA, sean lu, xiaohai lin, yuhai cheng, xinyi lu, yun gong, ze wang, wei xu, xin ji, xingrong chen, liu yang, xiaohui tang, zhe wang, zhaofeng liu, kailin sun

structure engineer: OVE arup

MEP engineer: WSP

rendering: SAN, DZI