Shenzhen, People's Republic of China. 2020
PROGRAM: Offices, apartments, laboratories, health centers, gyms, restaurants and large urban public squares
CLIENT: Shenzhen Carbon Cloud Digital Life Technology Co., Ltd.
SIZE: 1,614,586 sf
STATUS: construction
Founded by genomicist Dr. Jun Wang, iCarbonX is a Chinese biotechnology company whose mission is to manage people’s digital life and healthcare, treating people remotely by studying their human genome. The “i” in its name stands for the internet, and the “X” for DNA. Steven Holl Architects won the competition to build the company’s Shenzhen headquarters.
The structure’s connected elements are inspired by DNA unfolding. Body A, the 150 M tower, is for residential use only and represents the “living” part of the architectural complex. Body B, the 200 M tower dedicated entirely to research, is “functional” with office space, labs and public reception areas.
Four green suspended bridges connect the towers, conceptually representing the chemical bonds that join carbon atoms together. The two upper bridges form a pathway dedicated to health and wellness, including a gym and swimming pool. The two lower bridges link public areas—a clinic, galleries and meeting spaces—within the two structures. Occupying a central space, the central clinic is an expression of iCarbonX’s goal of applying science to everyday life.
The buildings’ outer shell, a fritted glass curtain wall that changes with the buildings’ curvature, allows light into the interior to meet the lighting requirements of the rooms within. Curvilinear geometry shapes the ground-level public space with water gardens and a central recycled-water “Pool of Knowledge”.
– Shenzhen Silver Green certification
– Sponge City run-off control measures
– enhanced landscape with over 40 local planting species
– maximized open space and roof terraces
– natural light and ventilation to all spaces
– centralized MEP systems
– grey water and recycling system
architect
- Steven Holl Architects
Steven Holl (design architect, principal)
Roberto Bannura (partner in charge)
Noah Yaffe (partner)
Dimitra Tsachrelia, Chris McVoy (advisor)
Olaf Schmidt (senior associate in charge of facade)
Yun Shi (project architect)
Ruoyu Wei, Yangyang Xu, Zhenya Li (assistant project architect)
Moises Vera, Filipe Taboada, Hong Ching Lee, Jinxin Ma, JongSeo Lee, Lirong Tan, Lourenzo Amaro de Oliveira, Sarah Schlegelmilch, Seo Hee Lee, Wenying Sun, Yiqing Zhao, Yuanchu Yi, Zakariya Al-Haffar (project team)
local architect
- Shenzhen CCDI
MEP consultant
- AECOM, Shenzhen CCDI
structural engineering
- Shenzhen CCDI
international lighting designer
- L’Observatoire International
façade consultant
- VS-A
local lighting consultant
- LDPi