Eschewing dramatic flourishes in favor of a crafted simplicity, Great River Center draws from Wuhan’s cultural heritage to fashion first-rate office space.
Positioned along the Yangtze riverside, the office tower serves as the flagship building of the larger development. The building benefits from an interior connection to Wuhan’s metro system through the adjacent shopping mall. At 400 meters tall, Great River Center’s offices overlook the historical Hanko Bund and the riverbank, integrating the Yangtze’s smoothness and soft curves.
The design’s central aesthetic inspiration is the Guqin, an ancient instrument revered in Chinese culture. The façade features sun-shading fins that run down the tower from top to bottom, where they taper into thin vertical bars like tightened Guqin strings. This feature connects to structural supports, forming an exoskeleton structure and allowing open floor plates, removing the need for conventional columns. At upper levels, the façade surface transitions from flat to folded, introducing a zig-zagging perimeter that transforms every window space on premium floors into a potential “corner” office. The building also offers two sky lobbies that maximize efficiency of the office floors.
Targeting LEED Gold and China 2-Star certifications, Great River Center prioritizes occupant wellness with oversized curtain wall panels and tall ceilings that draw high levels of natural light into 60% of all interior spaces. The tower sources 40% of all water consumed from recycled rainwater and incorporates “sponge city” systems to reduce and collect water runoff, including permeable paving systems, bio-swales, and rainwater retention ponds.
