Diamond Gloss of Xuhui Binjian Media City
Aedas has won a competition to design a 155m-high office tower in Shanghai as part of a 9-block district. Three of the blocks in the district have already been scooped up by DreamWorks Animation and the occupants of the Aedas-designed blockwide tower will have view over the DreamWorks cluster.
80% of the Xuhui Binjian Media City 188S-G-1 Tower and Podium designed by Aedas will be leased while the developer will retain 20% of the available space. Completion of the 33-storey structure is due in 2015.
The building starts with a rectangular base which slowly twists on its central axis as it rises, causing many internet users to compare its exterior form to the recently-unveiled Beach and Howe tower in Vancouver by BIG and DIALOG. A quote from Aedas reads: “It begins with an extruded rectangular plan. Going upward, the west wall is gradually warped to accommodate the subway setback that cuts off the corner of the otherwise square project site; and the north wall is warped to the east.”
Where the base of the tower meets the urban fabric Aedas have designed a separate podium platform for a medley of retail, restaurant and café units. The podium sports a warped canopy in reflection of the tower above and will offer shelter for outdoor events. The façade of the building draws its inspiration from the idea of a media screen. Clusters of three glass panels angled in one of four directions are designed to catch the light and make the tower shine like a diamond.
Aedas