Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) recently unveiled the design for the Hangzhou Wangchao Center in Hangzhou, China. The tower will add 125,000 sm of office, hotel, and retail space directly adjacent to one of the city’s new subway stations.
The tower’s silhouette is the result of an efficient structural system that minimizes wind loads with eight mega-columns that slope outward at the corners to create large, flexible floor plates. As the corner columns move farther apart, secondary perimeter columns branch out to maintain equal bays.
At the tower’s crown, the primary corner columns extend upward to a truss at the top level. Hangers and spandrels are braced back to the central concrete core with a series of struts that work in tandem to support MEP equipment and conceal the building maintenance systems.
Above the lobby, a Vierendeel transfer truss links the secondary columns to the corner columns, which creates an open lobby space below. The cladding on the undulating façade consists of planar glass panels.
"The Hangzhou Wangchao Center's distinctive silhouette derives its form from an integrated design process that solves programmatic, structural, and environmental criteria,” says SOM Design Partner, Gary Haney, in a release. “Located at the intersection of several major transportation networks, the tower is a beacon of performance-driven design and is emblematic of Hangzhou's future as a new global destination."
The Hangzhou Wangchao Center is slated for completion in 2021.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Casino Queen breaks ground on $2.15 million entertainment venue
The Casino Queen in East St. Louis, Ill., is raising the stakes in its bid to capture a larger share of the local gaming market with the start of construction on a new $2.15 million sports bar and entertainment venue that will enhance the overall experience for guests.
| Aug 11, 2010
Outdated office tower becomes Nashville’s newest boutique hotel
A 1960s office tower in Nashville, Tenn., has been converted into a 248-room, four-star boutique hotel. Designed by Earl Swensson Associates, with PowerStrip Studio as interior designer, the newly converted Hutton Hotel features 54 suites, two penthouse apartments, 13,600 sf of meeting space, and seven “cardio” rooms.
| Aug 11, 2010
Arup, SOM top BD+C's ranking of the country's largest mixed-use design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Mixed-Use Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
10% of world's skyscraper construction on hold
Emporis, the largest provider of global building data worldwide, reported that 8.7% of all skyscrapers listed as "under construction" in its database had been put on hold. Most of these projects have been halted in the second half of 2008. According to Emporis statistics, the United States had been hit the worst: at the beginning of 2008, "Met 3" in Miami was the only U.S. skyscraper listed as being "on hold". In the second half of the year, 19 projects followed suit.
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
New website highlights government tax incentives for large commercial buildings
Energy Retrofit Group (ERG), the subsidiary of 40-year-old, award-winning Adache Group Architects, Inc., has announced the creation of their new energy conservation web site: www.energy-rg.com.