Crowning the skyline of the emerging city of Zhenghou, the tower’s circular form, Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza by Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) has opened its doors to its office users. The circular 60-story tower takes its place as the tallest building in the central Chinese city.

Located in the northeast portion of Zhengzhou, the 919-feet (280-meter) tall tower is a response to the surrounding development’s shape that centers on a manmade lake. Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza punctuates the neighborhood and provides the area—and the city—with an iconic new landmark on the skyline.

The tallest building in the central Chinese city, Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza houses a mixed-use program of offices on its lower floors and a 453-room hotel above.

Sophisticated aluminum screens are configured at an outward cant that enhances interior daylighting through scientifically calculated reflections, while protecting the all-glass exterior from solar gain. The same outward cant allows for a nuanced approach to artificial lighting, providing for dramatic nighttime lighting of the building which makes the tower a beacon.

Conceived as a classical column, the tower includes a heliostat that crowns the building and reflects daylight throughout the hotel atrium. Computer-controlled dimmer switches modulate the light level based on the illumination provided by the reflector, enabling the atrium to consume less energy and generate less heat throughout the year.

Read more
Read less

More information

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) is one of the leading architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning firms in the world, with a 75-year reputation for design excellence and a portfolio that includes some of the most important architectural accomplishments of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Since its inception, SOM has been a leader in the research and development of specialized technologies, new processes and innovative ideas, many of which have had a palpable and lasting impact on the design profession and the physical environment.

The firm’s longstanding design and building technology leadership has been honoured with more than 1,700 awards for quality, innovation, and management. The American Institute of Architects has recognized SOM twice with its highest honour, the Architecture Firm Award—in 1962 and again in 1996. The firm maintains offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Abu Dhabi.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Published on: January 22, 2013
Cite: "Zhengzhou Greenland Plaza by SOM" METALOCUS. Accessed February 13, 2025
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/zhengzhou-greenland-plaza-som> ISSN 1139-6415
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...
Loading content ...