Best Tall Building 300-399 meters Award of Excellence: Hengqin International Finance Center, Zhuhai
Andy Wen
Global Design Principal
Aedas, Hong Kong
Guo Guiqin
Executive Vice President
Zhuhai Huafa Urban Operations & Investment Holdings Co., Ltd, Zhuhai
Nine Dragons, One Tower
Conveniently surrounded by four metropolises: Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, the Hengqin New District possesses powerful momentum for future development. Its centerpiece is the International Financial Center. The podium contains a retail and conference center, providing space for commercial activities and business conferences. From 4th floor to 48th floors are Grade-A offices, and from 49th floor to the top are executive apartments.
The design is an attempt at embodying a convergence of energy in architectural form. The traditional totem of the dragon emerging from the sea, symbolic of new life breaking through barriers and limitations, is a very fitting image for the project. Inspired by the shapes of the “Nine Dragons Map,” an 800-year-old painting, the design seeks to express the quality of speed, power, and vitality through architecture in an atmosphere of rising clouds. The location, sheer volume of the project, and its variety of programs provided an excellent platform for executing this design. The building rises into a spiral from the podium, appearing as four towers integrating into one. The canopy of office entrance is extended from tower façade which resembles a curtain lifted by the wind. The retail entrance adopts a curved flowing line, so as to attract pedestrians. The exterior form creates a unique interior spatial experience. Based on this, the interior design is simple, clean and elegant, in order to emphasize the beauty of architecture form. The twisted façade glass skin enables natural light to enter, creating unique light and shadow plays. Interior walls and materials are uniform and elegant, so as to provide a neutral background for business conferences.
