Nanjing Tech Park Chuangyuan Tower wins at inaugural WAF China Awards 2020

Nanjing Tech Park Chuangyuan Tower, a project helmed by Wu Zhi Wei, director at DP Architects, won the Excellent Design Award at the inaugural World Architecture Festival (WAF) China awards.

Since its launch in 2008, the WAF awards competition has become the world’s largest festival and live awards competition dedicated to celebrating and sharing architectural excellence from across the globe.

Launched this year, the new arm of the awards honours projects from the Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan regions, assessing submissions across typologies including mixed-use, residential, office, institutional and more.

The Nanjing Tech Park Chuangyuan Tower project, which houses many functions within a single development, is a government building. As such, the design called for an open concept that was inviting to the public without compromising the privacy of the office and hotel, with minimal interference between these functions.

One of the project’s key design features, the spiralling ‘Green Deck’, resolves the contradictory needs of the end-users across different typologies and enables harmonious interaction between people, nature and architecture. The ‘Green Deck’ skillfully splits the building in two, with the hotel and its associated facilities concealed within the podium structure and the office tower sitting atop. As a result, the hotel and office spaces can function as discrete units.

The orientation of the building also carefully takes into consideration Nanjing’s climatic conditions and outward views. North-eastern winter wind will be deflected by the office tower, whereas during summer, the building invites and directs the flow of south-eastern wind through the site.

The rooftop garden spirals upwards from the ground, seamlessly integrating itself into the surrounding greenery, providing a welcoming communal space for public use.

The building façade, which primarily comprises glass curtain walls adorned with vertical aluminum and iridescent glass fins, help maximise openness, brightness, and outward views.

The iridescent glass fins on the podium create a unique and dynamic experience for users approaching the building as their hues vary depending on the angle.

A rooftop garden spirals upwards from the ground, seamlessly integrating itself into the surrounding greenery, providing a welcoming communal space for public use.