Ningbo Center Tower is located in the core of Ningbo Eastern New City, serving as the final project of phase 4 of Ningbo Center. With a total construction area of 231,214㎡ and a height of 409m, it becomes the tallest building in Zhejiang Province, embodying Ningbo's vision for the future of the city through architecture.

01 Collaborative Regional Integrated Development
In 2010, the design for the first phase of Ningbo Center commenced, marking the beginning of gad's 15-year "connection" with Ningbo Center. In 2012, the conceptual design for phases two to four of Ningbo Center began, with gad and SOM collaborating closely from the master planning stage.
Over 15 years, gad independently completed the full design of the first-phase Lanyuan Residences, the second-phase Lanxuan Apartments, the 150m super high-rise office building (Tower B) of the third-phase Ningbo Center, and the commercial portion of the TOD large-scale commercial complex project (Ningbo Hankyu), while SOM was responsible for the facade design of the commercial portion. For the high-rise tower of the fourth-phase Ningbo Center Tower, SOM handled the conceptual design across all disciplines and the preliminary architectural and structural design, while gad was deeply involved in the early stages and took charge of later-stage design coordination and detailed design.
The basements of the fourth-phase Ningbo Center project are interconnected, with the south and east sides adjacent to the then-under-construction Metro Lines 1 and 5. Leveraging extensive TOD development experience, gad completed the design of all basement, demonstrating its ability to systematically address the complexities of regional integrated development.

02 Balance Form and Function
The fourth-phase tower adopts the design concept of "a lotus bud emerging from water, ready to bloom." Combining the tower's image with the rationality of floor functionality, SOM meticulously refined the tower's scale, proportions, and layout, optimizing its form and urban presence while meeting functional needs, usability, and leasing flexibility.

The tower slightly expands outward from the base upward, maximizing scenic views and leasable area while facilitating flexible office layouts. Due to the narrowing of the upper core tube, the hotel floors are tapered to avoid excessive room depth. The tapering culminates in a four-petal design at the top, poetically accentuating Ningbo Eastern New City's skyline and creating a memorable visual landmark.

03 Optimize Structure and Experience
The tower adopts a frame-tube structure. For the outer ring columns, SOM replaces the conventional straight columns with cross columns and straight columns, reducing the number of outer ring columns on each functional floor from 24 to 12 ~ 20. This not only reduces the amount of structural steel and improves structural efficiency, but also provides a clear view of the landscape and improves the user experience. At the same time, the columns are integrated into the facade to participate in the lotus shape.

The tower has no standard floors, and the outer circle structural columns are retracted and extended layer by layer. In order to highly restore the architectural form and accurately locate the relationship between the structure and the surface, gad conducted layer-by-layer modeling and analysis, communicated with SOM on conflicting areas, and made corresponding adjustments to ensure the smoothness of the facade.

04 Harmonize Technology and Space
During the construction drawing design phase, based on SOM's proposal and preliminary design, gad worked closely with other relevant teams to sort out technical difficulties, respond to new regulatory challenges, and ensure the high-quality implementation of the project in terms of technology and aesthetics.

The tower area only covers 7,872 square meters. After the tower with a floor area of about 3,000 square meters is laid out, the outdoor space is extremely limited. To ensure the environmental effect, gad coordinated with the landscape and mechanical and electrical teams to integrate elements such as basement pipe shafts and chimneys into the landscape design or arranged them at the edge of the site to be shielded by the landscape, thus achieving the "hiding" of functional facilities.

Conclusion
With its innovative shape, superior structural system and precise response to urban use, Ningbo Center Tower demonstrates the comprehensive pursuit of technology, aesthetics and social value in super high-rise buildings.
As the tallest building in Zhejiang, it has achieved many technological breakthroughs: 409m tallest tower in Zhejiang, 110m deepest pile foundation in Ningbo, 10m/s fastest elevator in Zhejiang, and the first Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Zhejiang. The planned official opening of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the mid-high area in 2026 will herald the successful conclusion of the 16-year integrated development of Ningbo Center project.

Project Information
Project name: Ningbo Center Tower
Project location: Ningbo, Zhejiang
Design period: 2011-2022
Completion date: 2025
Building area: 231214㎡
Floor area ratio: 26.93
Client: Ningbo Center Building Construction Development Co., Ltd.
Architectural and structural conceptual design, schematic design and preliminary design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Mechanical and electrical scheme design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Curtain wall detailed design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Architectural design: gad
Implementing structural design: Shanghai Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd. (SIADR)
Implementation of mechanical and electrical design: Shanghai Construction Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. (SCDRI)
Interior Design (Hotel): CCD
Interior design (office area): CITYGROUP
Curtain wall consultant: Warner Engineering Consulting (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Vertical transportation and curtain wall maintenance consultant: Lipei Architectural Technology Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Mechanical and electrical consultant: P&T Group (PTME)
Traffic Consultant: MVA
Landscape Consultant: AECOM
Lighting consultant: LEOX Lighting Co., Ltd. (LEOX)