Skyscraper aficionados Skidmore, Owings and Merrill have added another glittering high-rise to their burgeoning portfolio of works in China. Last week, construction was officially completed on the Jiangxi Nanchang Greenland Zifeng Tower, a hybrid office and hotel building that has already been voted “favorite completed high-rise building” by nationwide technical staff at the Greenland Group, China’s leading development company and SOM’s client for the project.
The tower’s façade is characterized by two distinct treatments: the lower two thirds is articulated by a diagrid system of fin-shaped louvers, while the upper third is distinguished by what the architects describe as a “Great Window.” Occupying the top 20 stories, this tapered section of glazing reads as a vast, single aperture, demarcating the change in program within the building and lending the tower a striking, beacon-like appearance when viewed from afar.
The building has also been designed to maintain its presence on the skyline after dark: LEDs situated at the cross-section between each shading fin illuminate the façade each night. Despite this substantial amount of lighting, the fixtures are energy-efficient and contributed to the building achieving the LEED silver rating. At ground level, the building is framed by a podium housing retail and topped with landscaped roof terraces.
The project continues something of a “dream duo” collaboration between two of the world’s major players in high-rise design in the shape of SOM and the Greenland Group, having completed more than 10 buildings together across China. “It is extremely gratifying for our design team to be recognized by their many friends and colleagues within the Greenland Group,” said SOM managing director Michael Pfeffer. “SOM very much appreciates their longstanding commitment to bringing great design to the skylines of China’s cities.”
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