Much like OMA's daring design scheme for the CCTV Headquarters building, China's latest skyscraper, Guanghzou Circle, is meant to break away from the traditional skyscraper design ethos of the west—and it does so in dramatic fashion.
The 452-foot-tall, 914,000-sf building takes the shape of a giant doughnut, or more accurately described, a super-sized ribbon spool, with the floor space housed in a series of boxes suspended between two massive "wheels."
The project's architect, Milan-based Joseph di Pasquale Architect, drew inspiration from China's numerological tradition of feng shui, namely the jade bi-disk, which served as the royal symbol of the ancient Chinese dynasty that reigned in the area some 2,000 years ago. The architect describes the form as "an 'urban logo' that works as a reference in the panorama of the city, just as the characters are used instead of the alphabet in Chinese writing."
The interior houses office space and a trading floor for the Guangdong Plastics Exchange, the country's largest plastics trading floor, where some £30 billion worth of plastic raw materials and goods are traded annually, according to Sky News.
Related Stories
| Jan 21, 2011
Combination credit union and USO center earns LEED Silver
After the Army announced plans to expand Fort Bliss, in Texas, by up to 30,000 troops, FirstLight Federal Credit Union contracted NewGround (as CM) to build a new 16,000-sf facility, allocating 6,000 sf for a USO center with an Internet café, gaming stations, and theater.
| Jan 21, 2011
Manufacturing plant transformed into LEED Platinum Clif Bar headquarters
Clif Bar & Co.’s new 115,000-sf headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., is one of the first buildings in the state to meet the 2008 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards. The structure has the largest smart solar array in North America, which will provide nearly all of its electrical energy needs.
| Jan 21, 2011
Primate research facility at Duke improves life for lemurs
Dozens of lemurs have new homes in two new facilities at the Duke Lemur Center in Raleigh, N.C. The Releasable Building connects to a 69-acre fenced forest for free-ranging lemurs, while the Semi-Releasable Building is for lemurs with limited-range privileges.
| Jan 21, 2011
Harlem facility combines social services with retail, office space
Harlem is one of the first neighborhoods in New York City to combine retail with assisted living. The six-story, 50,000-sf building provides assisted living for residents with disabilities and a nonprofit group offering services to minority groups, plus retail and office space.
| Jan 21, 2011
Nothing dinky about these residences for Golden Gophers
The Sydney Hall Student Apartments combines 125 student residences with 15,000 sf of retail space in the University of Minnesota’s historic Dinkytown neighborhood, in Minneapolis.
| Jan 21, 2011
Revamped hotel-turned-condominium building holds on to historic style
The historic 89,000-sf Hotel Stowell in Los Angeles was reincarnated as the El Dorado, a 65-unit loft condominium building with retail and restaurant space. Rockefeller Partners Architects, El Segundo, Calif., aimed to preserve the building’s Gothic-Art Nouveau combination style while updating it for modern living.
| Jan 21, 2011
Sustainable history center exhibits Fort Ticonderoga’s storied past
Fort Ticonderoga, in Ticonderoga, N.Y., along Lake Champlain, dates to 1755 and was the site of battles in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The new $20.8 million, 15,000-sf Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center pays homage to the French magasin du Roi (the King’s warehouse) at the fort.
| Jan 21, 2011
Library planned for modern media enthusiasts
The England Run Library, a new 30,000-sf glass, brick, and stone building, will soon house more than 100,000 books and DVDs. The Lukmire Partnership, Arlington, Va., designed the Stafford County, Va., library, the firm’s fourth for the Central Rappahannock Library System, to combine modern library-browsing trends with traditional library services.
| Jan 21, 2011
Virginia community college completes LEED Silver science building
The new 60,000-sf science building at John Tyler Community College in Midlothian, Va., just earned LEED Silver, the first facility in the Commonwealth’s community college system to earn this recognition. The facility, designed by Burt Hill with Gilbane Building Co. as construction manager, houses an entire floor of laboratory classrooms, plus a new library, student lounge, and bookstore.
| Jan 21, 2011
Upscale apartments offer residents a twist on modern history
The Goodwynn at Town: Brookhaven, a 433,300-sf residential and retail building in DeKalb County, Ga., combines a historic look with modern amenities. Atlanta-based project architect Niles Bolton Associates used contemporary materials in historic patterns and colors on the exterior, while concealing a six-level parking structure on the interior.
