CGN Headquarters Building | URBANUS

Designed by URBANUS, The Shenzhen Central District, where the CGN headquarters building is located, is characterized by absolute uniqueness within each individual building. However, the lack of subtle echoes between buildings has led to the ultimate loss of integrity within the urban center building group. Tracing back to the essential features of high-rise buildings: efficient, comfortable, energy-saving and environmentally friendly, clear-cut, and going back to those architectural classics can sometimes make buildings stand out in the current perplexed urban background.

photography by © Chaoying Yang

Zhongguang Nuclear Building is located in a long and narrow north-south oriented site at the intersection of two main roads in the central area of Shenzhen’s CBD. The urban life around the site is separated by the islet-like buildings, which cannot be effectively connected. The space system of the entire block needs to be integrated.

photography by © Chaoying Yang

The architectural form and organization of space expresses the abstention from power and gives the CGN Headquarters a simple and concise figure from afar. The two tower blocks occupy the site eastwards and interlock in plan and space. An image of two linked and interactive buildings is formed by fully utilizing the landscape at the East and West side. In this area, two blocks respond to each other and form a bracket in the air.

photography by © Alex Chan

The simplicity of the building facade texture conveys digital aesthetics. Modular windows repeat and vary throughout the skin, and become the main architectural vocabulary system. These windows vary in size, direction, and depth, which gradually transform into grid fissions and extensions, supporting the floating public spaces. Based on these modular units, the spatial system of this gradient changes and partial upheaval acts as a metaphor for the fact that nuclear power is becoming a major energy industry.

photography by © Alex Chan

At night, light travels through the grid, transforming the façade into a crystalline skin, and transferring the whole building into a screen that contains infinitive change. The dark metal façade emphasizes the corporal expression of CGN’s headquarters building. The design exhibits the preciseness and solidity of a well-known technological enterprise, echoing its ambition of becoming a more international and future driven industry leader.

photography by © Alex Chan

Project Info:
Architects: URBANUS
Location: The intersection of Shennan Avenue and Caitian Road, Futian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Lead Architect: Yan Meng
Project Manager: Xiaodong Xu
Project Architect: Enchen Rao, Zhen Zhang, Renqin Luo(Architecture) | Xiaolan Yu (Landscape)
Design Team: Lide Li, Chunying Wu, Yanhua Sun, Shengfen Xie(Architecture) | Ting Lin, Zhijiao Wei, Jie Liu(Landscape) | Jialin Zhu, Luoyi Xu (Technical Director)
Client: China General Nuclear Power Corporation
Area: 158,458 m2
Project Year: 2015
Photography: Alex Chan
Project Name: CGN Headquarters Building