Nanjing’s iconic Zifeng Tower now has to live with the idea that, in just a few years, it will no longer be the tallest building in the city, as plans emerge for the new holder of the title that could also be the world’s tallest LEED-certified building.
Gulou means drum tower in Chinese and is traditionally the heart of a city in China. Fitting then that Nanjing’s own Gulou has been home to the city’s tallest building since 2010, when the Zifeng Tower was completed.
By 2025 however, Zifeng Tower could be number 3 on the list.
The South Hexi Yuzui Financial Tower will soar 500 metres above Nanjing’s skyline, located beside the Fish Mouth Wetlands Park from which it derives its name.
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The site will be jointly developed by China Resources, Jinmao and Ping’an, reported the tech arm of Sina on 23 March.
Architects for the project, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, won an international competition in 2018 to design the new financial district and tower. They released their finalised plans for the development towards the end of last year.
A press release on the firm’s website says, “The tower’s concept draws its inspiration from the patterns contained in the flowing waters of the nearby Yangtze River and expresses the beauty and fluidity of today’s lifestyles and culture in China”.
At the tower’s pinnacle will be a 360 degree, open-air observation platform that will be one of the highest in the world.
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As for those green credentials, the South Hexi Yuzui Financial Tower will be one of the tallest buildings to achieve LEED-Gold certification. The tower’s sky gardens shall utilise rainwater harvesting with the aim of “greater than 100 percent of rainfall” onsite water management.
Also revealed last week was that which will likely be Nanjing’s second tallest building.
The Greenland Jiangbei Financial Centre (from the same people responsible for Zifeng) is also touted to also be 500 metres, and will be the iconic landmark of Jiangbei New Area on the northern banks of of the Yangtze River.
That all said, the point may well end up being moot. Nanjing announced last year a 500-metre limit on the height of new buildings.
Initially, the South Hexi Yuzui Financial Tower was aiming for a height of 580 metres, while the Greenland Jiangbei Financial Centre was hoping for 550.
At the end of the day, if there is to be a race for the title of tallest building in Nanjing, it may well all end up being only about speed and money.
