Shenzhen, China
A transit-oriented development with an elegant unity of form and function, Citymark Tower illustrates best practice in the design of mixed-use towers, providing an exceptional experience for the people who live and work there.
Citymark Tower by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC. (KPF), won an American Architecture Award 2025 from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
Located in the northeast of Shenzhen, which has seen less large-scale development than the rest of this rapidly growing city, the tower is a beacon for the five-block Citymark urban plan and, with a direct connection to the Metro, connects users and the surrounding neighborhood to the wider city.
The form of the building responds to the requirements of the different uses within, with detailing inspired by the aerodynamic design of automobiles and airplanes, the elegant angles of the building referencing the client’s background in luxury vehicles. Symmetrical narrowing of the four elevations creates a pyramidal form. This inward taper suits the stacked program, with larger, square floorplates at the tower’s base accommodating efficient office space and smaller floorplates above more suitable for the luxury serviced apartments and clubhouse program in the top half of the tower. Residential units feature large indoor and outdoor spaces for networking and entertaining. The corners are cut back to provide generous terraces that form a striking expression on the tower’s façade.
Residential and office entries are separated – providing each with best-in-class accommodation, uncompromised by alternative uses. The entire ground floor is given over to the office lobby. Residents enter through a sunken garden, which offers a welcoming, private experience within the urban environment. The commercial and residential programs are connected mid-tower by shared clubhouse amenity spaces, which provide office worker and residents a place to meet, eat, exercise, and relax, while a rooftop garden sits atop the tower’s crown.
Earning LEED Gold and WELL certifications, Citymark Tower employs a variety of strategies to reduce the tower’s impact on the environment and improve occupant comfort. The curtain wall design incorporates tenant controlled operable windows throughout, allowing for natural ventilation to enhance indoor air quality and reduce energy consumption, while also using high-performance glass to reduce solar loads and maximize natural daylight to the interior.
The building systems aim to reduce resource use, including advanced energy monitoring on individual floors to track energy consumption and explore energy saving potential during operation and non-HCFC refrigerant VRV systems in the serviced apartments. The tower top is designed with operable windows and mechanically operated louvers to alleviate heat gain and create a comfortable, natural environment for the garden. A unique damper system was designed that integrates with the tower top’s fire water tank, utilising its weight to reduce movement at the higher floors.
Architects: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, PC. (KPF)
Design Team: Josh Chaiken, ManMan Huang, Terri Cho, Mu, Lisa Kenyon, Nick Cao, and Kingsley Ho
Associate Architects: Zhubo Design Group Co., Ltd.
General Contractor: China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd
Landscape Architects: AECOM
Client: Shenzhen Maiyuan Real Estate Co., Limited
Photographers: StudioSZ Photo and Justin Szeremeta
