zaha hadid architects to build 'tower C' at shenzhen bay super headquarters base

in china, zaha hadid architects (ZHA) has been announced as the winner of a competition to build ‘tower C’ at shenzhen bay super headquarters base — an important business and financial center serving the greater bay area of guangdong, hong kong, and macau. integrating clusters of corporate headquarters within a global technology hub accommodating 300,000 employees each day, the development will include venues for international conferences, exhibitions, and other cultural programming. the headquarters base will incorporate residential developments, a transportation center, botanical grasslands, and even a coastal zone with wetlands.

all images by brick, courtesy of zaha hadid architects

‘tower C’ by zaha hadid architects within the shenzhen bay super headquarters base responds to its location at the intersection of the city’s planned north-south green axis and shenzhen’s east-west urban corridor. connecting directly with its adjacent park and plazas, which transform into a terraced landscape extending upwards within its two towers, the design invites the public into the heart of the building where cultural and leisure attractions are housed in sweeping bridges that tie the towers together and give panoramic views of the city.

served by the expanding shenzhen metro network, the tower’s stepped podium integrates with the adjacent park to create a new public space. this not only provides direct pedestrian access, but also allows daylight to reach the public transport interchange below ground. prioritizing pedestrians, the tower’s design also includes extensive bicycle parking and charging facilities.

ZHA explains that the project’s design was informed by 3D modelling tools that optimize efficiencies in architectural massing, orientation, and façade-to-floor ratios. the result is a ‘multi-dimensional vertical city’ that comprises two towers that climb to a height of nearly 400 meters (1,312 feet). the building accommodates column-free naturally-lit office space, shopping, entertainment, and dining amenities, a hotel, a convention center, and cultural facilities with exhibition galleries.

from an environmental perepctive, the tower’s double-insulated, unitized glass curtain wall steps the glazing as vertical channels for self-shading and incorporates ventilating registers within the channels that draw outside air through operable cavities. indoor environmental controls will adjust in real time to reduce energy consumption, while aquaponics gardens on all terraced levels will biologically filter contaminants from the local environment. the design also incorporates water-collection and recycling, as well as photovoltaics to harvest solar energy for the district.

project info:

name: tower C at shenzhen bay super headquarters base
location: shenzhen, china

project team —
design: zaha hadid architects
principal: patrik schumacher
ZHA competition project directors: satoshi ohashi, paulo flores
ZHA competition project associates: jingwen yang, karoly markos, michail desyllas
ZHA competition project leader: xuexin duan
ZHA competition team: xiaoyu zhang, lida zhang, bogdan zaha, gaoqi lou, huiyuan li, jiaxing lu, leyuan jiang, mariana custodio dos santos, martin gsandtner, nastasja mitrovic, rui zhao, sebastian andia, xiangfan chen, yuan feng, zhiming wang, boyan hristov, john kanakas, enoch kolo, karina linsen
images: brick — website | instagram