Zaha Hadid Architects-designed building to have the world’s tallest atrium
By David Malone, Associate Editor
A mixed-use tower currently under construction in Beijing’s Lize Financial Business District will be notable not for its two twisting sections, but for what unites these sections: a 190-meter tall atrium that rises almost the full height of the building. The atrium will surpass the 180-meter tall atrium found in the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai as the world’s tallest.
According to ArchDaily, the atrium will unite the two twisting sections that contain a total of 172,800 sm of office and residential space. The building, dubbed Leeza SOHO, will also provide a new transit hub at its base that straddles a subway tunnel currently under construction.
The two sections of the building are split at the base to align with the new subway tunnel, but as the tower rises, the atrium twists 45 degrees to align with Lize Road, which is a major road in southwest Beijing. The atrium will provide a new indoor public space for the city and supplement the plaza the surrounding plaza.
The 207-meter building will be completed in 2018 and comprise 46 floors. Construction is underway with 20 floors already completed.
