Between the Two Lakes
Zhengzhou City is the capital city of the Henan Province, and is the center for governmental, cultural, financial, scientific and educational activities of the entire region. Zhengdong New District is being developed within the Zhengzhou City to become a new center for business and commerce.
The new city has two Central Business Districts – the CBD which has been substantially completed, and its counterpart, the Sub-CBD, which is still being developed. The Sub- CBD development comprises offices, hotels, as well as commercial and cultural complexes, that all amount to an approximate builtup area of 3,000,000 sqm, spread over a site area of 110 hectares.
View From Across Water
The site for this new development encloses a lake area of 30 hectares and is itself surrounded by a larger lake called Longhu. Being isolated from the surrounding urban context as such, the Sub-CBD urban design was based on the concept of the ‘Enclosed City’ that is a self-sufficient urban environment.
Towers C3-06 and C3-19 are 2 towers in this Masterplan, located between the Inner Ring and Outer Ring roads. C3-06 is located on the eastern end of the Masterplan whereas C3-19 is on the western end of the project. C3-06 is sandwiched between a road and C3-07 on the eastern end and C3-19 sits between buildings C3-18 and C3-20 on the western end. These two towers aim to have a powerful presence and stature in the overall master plan as envisioned by Arata Isosaki and his planning team.
Glass Tangram Puzzle
The architecture by Asymptote for two new commercial office towers the 06 & 19, draw inspiration from a variety of Chinese references including the rich tradition of vernacular monument and temple architecture as well as the beautiful abstract geometry of wooden puzzles and tangram configurations and the of ceramic art in the region.
The main design features for both these towers consist of cylindrical towers placed within circular plinths that in turn provide each tower with large interior atriums and foyers. These large volumes spaces accessible to the public, serve both as entryways as well as multi-use commercial space. From these central spaces the main core elements in each tower extend upwards into a cruciform cantilevered office component. These suspended office spaces house new trading floors and other high volume programs high above and open void below while located at the base of the cylindrical towers above.
Each tower comprises a unique series of cylindrical tiers that are stacked at different intervals and articulated with recessed collar elements. The towers highly articulated glass façades are comprised of an array of geometric patterns with recessed collar elements that create a subtle and shifting silhouette and therefore distinguishes these buildings as being sophisticated and unique. The facade panels are pre-assembled into floor to floor modular diamond-shape units with variations in the configuration of the geometry as well as orientation and material characteristics of the glass that achieve a dynamic quality in the façade that varies depending on the position of the viewer, the surrounding light and atmosphere.
The facades glistens and changes appearance depending on the position of the viewer while simultaneously giving each tower a cohesive and dignified appearance as new iconic landmarks for the city of Zhenzhou. The manipulation of the physical façade geometry provides each tower with its own matched yet unique image as a new vivid show place of the city.
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Materials provided by Asymptote Architecture