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The Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates-designed SOHO Gubei office tower held its grand opening on February 28th, marking the completion of the 38-storey building in front of a crowd of nearly 1,000 people. Reflecting the proportions of Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși's 'Endless Column,' the massing is likened to an undulating obelisk, featuring a diagonally canted zig-zag profile.
Comprised of four stacked volumes, the building's series of shifted grids serves to shade the sun and reduce glass glare. A 12-storey accessory building with below-grade parking links the tower via skybridge, completing the complex located near the new Hongqiao Central Park in Shanghai's central business district.
Compared to the undulating envelope of the main tower, the secondary building adopts a more streamlined design that emphasizes the pedestrian experience and reflects the residential surroundings. The tower's top level contains a sky garden with dining and outdoor spaces available to both tenants and the public.
"Shanghai is full of tall towers, but perhaps few that make such a high priority of sculptural simplicity," said KPF President James von Klemperer. "In SOHO, we met a client who shared this goal. Founders Zhang Xin and Pan Shiyi pushed us to follow our initial idea all the way to completion. Together, I feel we’ve given the city of Shanghai a giant piece of public art."
What do you think of the project? As always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
