The 358m-high tower is set to be landmark for both the new Wujiang lakefront development and for the city as a whole. SOM Design Director Ross Wimer said: “This design is the result of a serious interdisciplinary collaboration in our Chicago office. Like a high performance car, the digital modeling of aerodynamics was critical to the shaping of the building. The design team included structural and mechanical engineers from the very beginning and their input helped to define all aspects of the tower.”
The 75-level building is designed for mixed uses including office, service apartments, hotel and retail on a 37,000m2 site. Sited prominently along Taihu Lake in the Jiangsu Province of China, the building’s curved, tapered form unifies the office, hotel and residential uses within a single volume.
SOM structural engineering partner Bill Baker said: “This unique tower expresses the strength of the building in a way that is both interesting and structurally functional.”
The Wujiang Greenland Tower’s composite core and outrigger structural system use proven construction techniques, while its split-core configuration of the upper floors increases the efficiency of the building structure.
The atrium has been designed to maximise daylight penetration, facilitate mixed-mode ventilation and act as a fresh air supply source for the tower. Key energy saving strategies include a high-performance façade, use of cooler outside air at higher levels for natural ventilation of the atrium, natural light harvesting, lighting energy optimisation and energy recovery systems. There will also be an on-site energy centre with combined heat and power plant.
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