We've reported on a lot of Shenzhen skyscraper announcements lately, but this one may well prove to be the most important. Poised to become one of the world's tallest buildings, perhaps even the second-tallest, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Center, by Adrian Smith+Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), will rise to an impressive height of around 700 m (roughly 2,300 ft).
As things currently stand, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Center's height will make it the world's second-tallest building, behind the 829.8 m (2,723 ft)-tall Burj Khalifa (which was also designed by Adrian Smith during his time at SOM). That said, it could well drop to third or even fourth place if AS+GG's Jeddah Tower and Santiago Calatrava's Dubai Creek Tower are finished first.
To put its size into perspective, the building will be over twice the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, and around the same height as nine Boeing 747-8 airliners, stacked nose to tail.
The Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Center is part of a larger development by AS+GG that will include office space, apartments and a hotel. The tower itself will boast one of the world's highest observation points, as well as a swimming pool, restaurant, and nightclub. Its design consists of a complex sculpted facade that is likely intended to help mitigate the brutal wind forces at such heights – the same reason that the current world's second-tallest tower, the Shanghai Tower, twists so dramatically.
"The Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Center is anthropomorphic in its character, representing and honoring in an abstract way the athletes that train and struggle to have the opportunity to perform in the world-class stadiums, arenas, and natatorium directly adjacent to and integrated into the overall AS+GG master plan for this project," says Adrian Smith. "In this way, it adds a subtle layer of contextualism to the activities that these performance spaces contain. The result is a muscular expression in high-performance glass with layers of texture that define the elements of its shaped form."
The Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Center is slated for LEED Platinum certification (a green building standard) and will include high-performance glass to reduce heat gain, natural ventilation, rainwater collection and a focus on natural lighting.
As of writing, we've not received confirmation that the project is definitely going ahead, however earlier this year reports circulated that the building – then without an official architect being named – had begun construction, with an expected completion date of 2024. It's being developed by Shimao Property Group.
Source: AS+GG