Ping An Financial Centre. Image courtesy of Tim Griffith
China Resources Tower. Image courtesy of Time Griffith.
The KPF Directors discussed China Resources Tower and Ping An Finance Centre in the magazine’s special issue celebrating the 40th anniversary of Shenzhen’s status as a free trade zone.
Florence Chan and Brain Chung gave insight into their experiences designing supertalls in Shenzhen and how COVID-19 impacts the need for dense cities. The two were joined by Benjamin Lau of TFP Ferrells Architects for the article titled “The Height of Shenzhen: What Kind of Super High-Rise Building do we need?”
In the article, Chan highlighted how skylines are defining aspects characteristics of a city, and that results in the responsible design of towers, “[Skylines are] the most straightforward way to convey the experience of a place we were in. Despite the rapid replacement of postcards with social media posting, the idea of skyline and its city has been as relevant as ever. When designing the tallest building in the city, we have to go beyond its immediate physical context and look for aspiration that defines the city.”
KPF has completed many projects in Shenzhen, as Brian states “Shenzhen has been a significant platform for KPF to make great urban neighborhoods. Even within the same city, different districts with their own characteristics and different clients would call for a unique design solution. Both China Resources Tower and Ping An Finance Center attempt to mark the center of its district.” The article then highlights the design of the two towers, noting both their individual forms and their contributions to the city fabric.
This article appeared in Architectural Practice’s December issue. Download the full article here.