Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China

Led by Thom Mayne and his team at Morphosis together with Zhubo Design and HASSELL, Hanking Center Tower rethinks the traditional commercial office building through an innovative approach to circulation, social, and workspaces.

Working together with landscape architects, SWA Group and Ohtori Consultants, the flexible tower office space is anchored by high-end retail and dining in the podium and serves Shenzhen’s growing body of global professionals and brings density to the suburb of Nanshan.

Occupying a place of prominence on Shennan Boulevard, Hanking Tower’s slender profile redefines the local skyline.

The Center utilizes folded angles to elegantly merge public components in the podium with private commercial space in the tower – a departure from conventional towers, where the differing program is often relegated to separate and disjointed volumes.

Surrounding the tower’s podium, a grand plaza and dimensional hardscape create a new neighborhood landmark and enhance public activity at the street level.

The form of the tower is primarily defined by its pioneering steel structural system, which offsets the primary movement and service cores to the exterior of the floorplate.

Shifting the cores open the main body of the tower, significantly minimizing the building’s structural footprint while maximizing open space.

Shadowing the offset circulation core, two secondary cores in the body provide structural reinforcement and house private elevators for VIP users, as well as freight elevators and mechanical services.

A series of sky bridges and diagonal mega-braces rigidly link the offset core to the main tower.

As the new icon for the high-tech industrial sector, the Hanking Center Tower is designed as an incubator for emerging technologies, providing for growing firms with evolving space requirements.

The open floor plate, made possible by the tower’s offset core, dramatically increases space planning flexibility and offers healthier work environments with enhanced natural light and airflow.

Offsetting the core also allows for public to private gradient of activity on each floorplate, as tenants move from circulation and social spaces around the core to quieter perimeter offices with panoramic views.

Freed from the interior of the building, circulation and amenity areas gain natural light and exterior views over the city.

Project: Thom Mayne Hanking Center Tower
Architects: Morphosis
Design Team: Thom Mayne, Eui-Sung Yi, Hann-Shiuh Chen, Mario Cipresso, Amit Upadhye, Jamie Z. Wu, Daniel Pruske, Ben Toam, Natalia Traverso Caruana, Ilaria Campi, Sarah Kott, Daniel Leone, Michael Nesbit, Carolyn Ng, Atsushi Sugiuchi, Kwo Wang, Cory Brugger, Kerenza Harris, Stan Su, Natalie Abbott, Viola Ago, Marco Becucci, Paul Cambon, Carmelia Chiang, Sam Clovis, Tom Day, Ryan Docken, Emma Entress, Chris Eskew, Kabalan Fares, Bart Gillespie, Marie Goodstein, Fredy Gomez, Austin Griffis, Greg Gyulai, Parham Hakimi, Yoon Her, Maria Herrero, Chip Hubert, Jonathan Kaminsky, Hunter Knight, OneJae Lee, Katie MacDonald, Eric Meyer, Nicole Meyer, Elizabeth Miller, Samuel Naylor, Liana Nourafshan, Sille Pihlak, Jon Rieke, Ari Sogin, Colton Stevenson, Henry Svendsen, Derrick Whitmire, Patrick, Witthaus, Evan Yoon, Helena Yun, and Pablo Zunzunegui Associate Architects, Zhubo Design
Interior Architects: HASSELL
Structural Concepts: John A. Martin & Associates
Structural Engineers: Halvorson and Partners and WSP
Landscape Architects: SWA Group
Landscape Architects: Ohtori Consultants
General Contractors: China Construction Fourth Engineering Division Corp. Ltd.