Hanking Center, an 1,180-foot-tall mixed-use complex with a commercial office tower and retail center, has completed in Shenzhen, China. The 65-story tower is currently the tallest detached-core building in the world.
The slender profile of the tower emerges above a low-rise retail podium that features angled facets, shadowing the form of the tower above. A series of glass sky bridges and steel mega-braces knit the offset core to the main body of the tower. At ground level, the Center is accessible by multiple entrances and is set within a landscaped public plaza, ensuring a permeable site that invites the public into the retail podium.
The tower’s steel structural system and detached-core configuration, which positions the tower’s primary core on the building’s exterior, promotes higher efficiency and adaptability of interior floor plates. This enhances the tower’s ability to service the varying needs of its occupants. The detached-core configuration also allows for an innovative approach to internal circulation and the creation of social and work spaces that integrate public and private domains. Two secondary cores in the body provide additional structural reinforcement and house mechanical services such as freight and VIP elevators.
By shifting the primary movement and service core outside the main body of the tower, the design minimizes the building’s structural footprint while maximizing open spaces inside the tower. The exoskeletal frame bends and straightens to expand and contract interior floor sizes.
The open floor plates allow for enhanced natural light and airflow. Tenants move from circulation around the core to quieter perimeter offices, creating a public to private gradient. Folded angles are used to merge public components in the podium with private commercial space in the tower. Inside the retail podium, a tapered atrium draws natural light down into the mall creating an inviting interior environment for the public. A grand plaza and dimensional hardscape surrounds the tower’s podium to create a new neighborhood landmark that enhances public activity at the street level.
The project completed in 2018 with a gradual opening that continued into 2021.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 17, 2023
How to design for adaptive reuse: Don’t reinvent the wheel
Gresham Smith demonstrates the opportunities of adaptive reuse, specifically reusing empty big-box retail and malls, many of which sit unused or underutilized across the country.
Sustainability | Aug 15, 2023
Carbon management platform offers free carbon emissions assessment for NYC buildings
nZero, developer of a real-time carbon accounting and management platform, is offering free carbon emissions assessments for buildings in New York City. The offer is intended to help building owners prepare for the city’s upcoming Local Law 97 reporting requirements and compliance. This law will soon assess monetary fines for buildings with emissions that are in non-compliance.
Office Buildings | Aug 10, 2023
Bjarke Ingels Group and Skanska to deliver 1550 on the Green, one of the most sustainable buildings in Texas
In downtown Houston, Skanska USA’s 1550 on the Green, a 28-story, 375,000-sf office tower, aims to be one of Texas’ most sustainable buildings. The $225 million project has deployed various sustainable building materials, such as less carbon-intensive cement, to target 60% reduced embodied carbon.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 31, 2023
6 multifamily housing projects win 2023 LEED Homes Awards
The 2023 LEED Homes Awards winners in the multifamily space represent green, LEED-certified buildings designed to provide clean indoor air and reduced energy consumption.
High-rise Construction | Jul 26, 2023
A 33-story Singapore tower aims to reimagine work with restorative, outdoor spaces
Architecture firm NBBJ has unveiled design details for Keppel South Central, a commercial tower in Singapore. The project, which is slated for completion in late 2024, will transform the original Keppel Towers into a 33-story, energy-efficient building that aims to reimagine work by providing restorative spaces and connections to the outdoors.
Designers | Jul 20, 2023
Mary Cook Associates brews up coffeehouse-inspired apartment community
The MCA design team worked closely with the developer and design architect to create an interior concept inspired by Decatur, Ga.’s, tree-lined streets, boutique retail, and vibrant restaurant and coffee shop scene.
Mass Timber | Jul 11, 2023
5 solutions to acoustic issues in mass timber buildings
For all its advantages, mass timber also has a less-heralded quality: its acoustic challenges. Exposed wood ceilings and floors have led to issues with excessive noise. Mass timber experts offer practical solutions to the top five acoustic issues in mass timber buildings.
