The project creates a sustainable mixed-use urban environment that welcomes visitors to experience nature and art in an active setting, establishing a new form of participatory urbanism.
Huamu Lot 10 is defined by three office towers and a future museum carefully situated around a central grand plaza. Activated by surrounding cultural programming, the plaza is designed to accommodate large-scale artwork.
“The urban significance of this cluster of buildings goes beyond its office function,” says KPF President and Design Principal James von Klemperer. “The complex combines with a major museum to make cultural space, and creates a ‘sky plane’ above that raises the aspirations of the city.”
“We’ve conceived the project as an integrated place of culture and commerce,” says KPF Design Principal Jeffery A. Kenoff.
Each of the three towers is efficiently planned and rationally massed to make a strong statement and respond to a variety of future contexts. The glass curtain wall facades allow for panoramic views and bring plentiful natural light to the buildings’ interiors, while strong horizontal elements emphasize their rigidity. Subtle cantilevers at uniform heights create a visually connected Sky Gallery, a dramatic and iconic gesture high above the surrounding neighborhood. At night, these cantilevered elements are illuminated to become grand lighting features, marking Huamu Lot 10 from afar. Stepped gardens located on building roofs and terraces provide building occupants with verdant outdoor gathering space and offer sweeping views of the city.
“The project seeks to flip the equation of a tower, which typically includes an iconic top, and instead uses the gallery program as a cantilevered volume near the mid-point of the tower,” continues Kenoff. “The result is a moment that engages the pedestrian realm while simultaneously sculpting the project’s identity within the Shanghai skyline.”
For the official press release, please click here.