Chongqing Gaoke Group Ltd Office Project, Chongqing, China | 2022

Architects: Aedas
Lead Designer: Ken Wai
General Contractor: Chongqing Construction Engineering Group Corporation Limited
Client: Chongqing Gaoke Group Co., Ltd.
Photographers: Aedas and Arch-Exist Photography

An “iconic landmark” sculpted with simplicity, completed in 2022, Chongqing Gaoke Office Project utilizes a simple elegant form. It is derived from the northern light, which creates the twisting shape of the 180-meter tall tower to form expressive double-curved surfaces on the building façades. Vertical lines accentuate the minimalistic form and through the effect of reflection and refraction from the glass create a design statement that celebrates light as the major tool to define architecture. North of Xingfu Plaza, the project is located in the Jiangbei District of Chongqing. The surrounding environment has already been developed in a spacious plot, and one big challenge for the designer wawas to interpret the planning concept of “solar,” into an iconic landmark well-integrated into the existing community context.

When the sun rises, the curved façade shines, and the tower becomes a building of light. When night falls, the curved façade showcases reflections that allude to the dancing figure of a ballerina. The podium roof extends a coherent statement of sliding twist from top to bottom, echoing the geometry of the tower and maintaining a consistent architectural style. To achieve a very smooth transition of the glass façade, the design uses double-curved cold--form glass instead of the usual or more common faceted method. The maximum twisting angle is up to 8.8 degrees per floor surpassing the existing super high-rise tower in the world by nearly 1.5 times.

It is expected to be one of “The Most Twisting Towers in the World.” Innovative façade technology from façade engineer RFR empowers the precise execution of the challenging design. The area of the hyperbolic curtain wall is about 8,000 square meters, and the number of hyperbolic curtain wall panels is as many as 1,709. The unique twisting results in a high double-curvature ratio, which poses a major challenge for the overall façade system. Such innovation is to adapt to the changing geometric parameters and dimensions while fulfilling requirements on safety, waterproof, and thermal performance. It also ensures a consistent façade construction in line with BIM simulations.

The system of cold bend glass on the 3D frame façade component enables a maximum of 86mm in glass deviation between floors, realizing a record-breaking design in China. From overall geometry analysis, façade component modeling & clash-checking, LOD400 detail component modeling, automotive data exporting, and auditing, 3D BIM has been utilized throughout the entire façade design process. Through value engineering, a portion of the hyperbolic glass with flat glass wawas successfully replaced achieving savings in construction costs. The architectural form uses twisted curved glass, leading each glass is different in size and degree of twist. With a unique twisted façade and integration with the landscape, the view of the tower varies from different angles.