Designed for the fast-developing Qianhai District in Shenzhen, China’s south financial and technology hub, Golden Bridge Twin Towers is envisioned technologically innovative, interactive, resilient, and sustainable skyscraper. The site is adjacent to Qianhai Bay and the district park, drawing design inspiration from its connection to nature. At 200 m tall and 180 m tall, the towers have elongated masses with smooth corners and plan, sloping inward to optimize the solar and wind performance, minimize the impact of the dense urban environment, and maximize the views to the bay and park.
Rethinking The Future Awards 2023
First Award | Office building (Concept)
Project Name: Golden Bridge Twin Towers
Category: Office building (Concept)
Studio Name: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Design Team: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Area: 114,501 sm
Year: 2019
Location: Shenzhen, China
Consultants: N/A
Photography Credits: N/A
Render Credits: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Other Credits: N/A
Two sky bridges – one at near ground retail and one at the top – connect the buildings. These spaces provide a unique amenity and help to maximize the program’s flexibility. Structurally, the bridges transfer wind and seismic loads between the two towers to improve their performance by reducing torsional responses and lateral displacements.
Orientated around the central opening in the sky bridges, an exciting central public space establishes a venue for people to connect, meet, and celebrate events, with access to connections internally to multiple floors and externally to roof terrace gardens. Retail spaces are provided in the lower skybridge, while the upper bridges programing is flexible and can offer exhibition, dining, and socialization, as well as conference space and training facilities.
The sky bridges are characterized by two sky openings where people can break out from interior to exterior to enjoy fresh air and nature on every floor in the exterior landscaped balconies and on the bridge roof gardens. These spaces are also visible for those taking one of the shuttle elevators, creating an urban, iconic, interactive, vertical community space between the twin towers. This internal atrium extends further upward, linking to the final roof garden and sky farm that is gently protected by a building integrated photovoltaic canopy. At night, special lighting in between towers and on the skybridges give the towers and the neighborhood an added identity.
The building’s façade is carefully designed to optimize the solar and ventilation performance. Sunshades are deep and horizontal on the south to control the shading from high angle sun. The sunshades move gently around the building corners to reduce the depth in horizontal direction and increase the vertical direction to filter the low angle sun from morning and afternoon. A special glazing with dual photochromic and electrochromic property will be used to control the atrium solar condition with the maximized view out. Horizontal ventilated mullions will provide the interior users convenient control of natural ventilation in the appropriate weather.
Golden Bridge Twin Towers uses multiple strategies for increased sustainability including high-performance façade with solar heat gain reduction, roof PV renewable energy generation, 60% water reduction, waste, and embodied carbon reduction, improved indoor quality with view, daylighting, and natural ventilation, on demand interactive office intelligent control, as well as access to the green and open space. The towers maximize the comfort of the occupants and minimize the environmental footprint of the buildings, while using costs and constructability as additional design factors.
