Image courtesy of LAVA. Rising to a height of 280 m (980 ft), the design of the Zhejiang Gate Towers project reflects Chinese characters.

The website Gizmag is reporting that Initial construction work is underway on a pair of sustainable mixed-use towers in Hangzhou, China. Rising to a height of 280 m (980 ft), the design of the Zhejiang Gate Towers project reflects Chinese characters, and the towers' facades will sport aluminum shading fins that shimmer in the sunlight.

Symbolism tends to be more important in Chinese architecture than in the west (as highlighted by the Guangzhou Circle Mansion), and this is the case with the Zhejiang Gate Towers, which are designed by international firm LAVA (the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture).

"The high-rise towers are an interpretation of the Chinese characters meaning 'gate' or entrance to a city," explains director Tobias Wallisser. "The development is located at a major interchange into the city so we wanted to create an iconic gateway to Hangzhou. Utilizing our extensive view studies we positioned the tower ensemble so it is recognizable as a twin structure, a gate, from both near and far."

The firm is aiming for LEED Gold (a green building standard) certification, and the twin towers will sport high-performance glazing to reduce solar heat gain and glare inside. In addition, each tower's facade will consist of two groups of long vertical aluminum shading fins. The varying depth of the fins and the use of different colored glazing will lend the appearance of shimmering.

LAVA also says that the towers' structure comprises eight "super columns" which reduces the structural system required (and therefore the material used for that structural system) by roughly 30 percent, compared to traditional methods.

The twin towers are part of a larger masterplan comprising a total of five buildings, including the towers themselves, a 90 m (295 ft)-tall mixed-use building, and smaller office, residential, and retail buildings.

Ground has already been broken on the project, and it is expected to be completed in 2019. It was commissioned by the Shimao Property Group, which also funded the Shimao Intercontinental Hotel.

Source: Gizmag

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