The Ripple Effect
HENN architekten has been selected as the winner of a competition to design a high-rise commercial tower in the Wenzhou Central Business District. The proposed site for the 160m-high structure is located on the southern edge of the business district so that the form may act as an ‘architectural gate’ for the business cluster.
A striking glass façade with an angular ripple effect clearly differentiates the tower from its neighbours. The slanted façade will be animated by ever-changing reflections of the sky, city life below and surrounding landscape. The intensity of the façade ripples is most acute at the base of the tower, smoothing out towards the top. A five-storey podium anchors the tower to the street, comprising retail arcades, restaurants and spas.
In the mid-height section will be the office units and the uppermost storeys are reserved for a hotel. An elevated walkway for pedestrians has been incorporated to connect the retail section of the Wenzhou Tower with existing buildings nearby. Two main sky lobbies are planned for the building summit and a series of triangulated green pockets at regular intervals throughout the tower will be utilised as interior atriums and informal meeting areas.
Henn Architekten