Hubei Gezhouba Haiji Real Estate Development Ltd.
Gezhouba International Plaza
Wuhan, China
2,600,000 SF
The Gezhouba International Plaza is composed of a faceted, crystalline, 69-floor high-rise office tower to the northwest, a 34-floor condominium and hotel tower to the southeast, and, connecting the two, a low-rise commercial and retail venue surrounded by a public landscape. The slender mass of the office tower ensures the delivery of natural light throughout the structure. A breathing exterior envelope enables the building’s state of equilibrium. The organizing principle of water, a gesture to the Yangtze River and many other waterways of the region, serves as an aesthetic catalyst for space and form, as well as a conservation method for energy systems. The design also utilizes gray water collection and wind power generation. Circulation and scale were primary considerations in both the plaza and plinth design. The six-story retail base is connected to the office tower via a lower-level concourse and skybridges at upper levels, crisscrossing a multi-story, skylit atrium.