The Hongqiao Vantone SunnyWorld Centre, a major new sustainable masterplan for a prominent site at the heart of the Shanghai Hongqiao CBD, has broken ground – the project forms part of a large-scale urban plan, extending from Shanghai’s main station. The dynamic new mixed-use community is centred on a new four-hectare public park and brings together highly efficient, flexible office buildings, animated at ground level by shops, restaurants and a range of new civic spaces.
Designed to set a new benchmark for sustainable design in the city, the office buildings border the linear park and are oriented to minimise solar gains and maximise views. The buildings are laid out as triangular fingers, which intersect to create visual connections between the ground level and offices above, while drawing greenery deep into the site. Their slender floor plates maximise daylight and natural ventilation, while providing a flexible solution that can easily adapt to future change. The park culminates in a landmark building, whose scale responds to its location as the 'end point' of the development, while relating successfully to the canal and city quarter beyond.
The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Feng Lun, Chairman of Vantone Holdings and Qi Hongbo, Chairman of SunnyWorld Group, along with local business and civic leaders and the project has been designed and engineered by Foster + Partners integrated architectural and engineering design teams.
