HENN

Software company Kingdee is extending its headquarters in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen with a 210 metre tower designed by HENN. The design was first revealed during the invited international competition. The building shell is to be completed by 2017.

A glazed tower will form the central building for the new headquarters. The tower‘s prominent position and 44-storey height will make the building an urban design landmark. An irregular pentagon in plan, the building makes optimum use of the available ground between two existing nine-storey blocks. The high-rise will reach up to three different heights and maintain a sculptural grace, whilst allowing the conference floor levels to project out from different sides of the building. Through this multifaceted geometric form, the new tower will integrate smoothly into the existing ensemble of office blocks. The tower’s fully glazed three-storey atrium presents an open entrance. It welcomes visitors and employees into the spacious and prestigious foyer, which is also perceptible from the outside. The lifts in the central circulation core transport passengers throughout the building and between flexibly designed office areas. The tower’s column grid and reinforced concrete core, which aligns with the pentagonal layout in plan, form an effective loadbearing structure. The column grid is staggered for the technical floors, which are located beneath the conference floor projections. The façade design strikes an optimum balance between outward visibility and solar shading, whilst the pattern and the degree of transparency of the building envelope also take into account incoming solar radiation and the established room schedule. The public space, located within the projections, enjoy maximum transparency and unobstructed outward views through the generous, flat-windowed surfaces. The shape and proportion of opaque façade elements for the office storeys are a designed response to solar radiation and provide shading for interior spaces. The office areas are thereby appropriately protected from the sun in the challenging tropical urban environment.