Steven Holl Architects has been awarded a 2011 AIA New York Honor Award for the Horizontal Skyscraper in Shenzhen, China.
Suspended on eight cores, as far as 50 meters apart, the building’s structure is a combination of cable-stay bridge technology merged with a high-strength concrete frame. The first structure of its type, it has tension cables carrying a record load of 3280 tons.
The Horizontal Skyscraper is an innovative example of the large-scale, hybrid use building, which challenges the usual developer typologies. The building hovers above the landscape, freeing it for public use and for a unique scheme of ecosystem restoration. The project is both a building and a landscape, a delicate intertwining of sophisticated engineering and the natural environment.
The project employs some of the most forward-thinking sustainable design strategies. It utilizes greywater recycling, rain water harvesting, green roofs, dynamically controlled operable louvers, and high-performing glass. 1400 square meter of photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of the building provide 12.5 percent of the total electric energy demand for Vanke Headquarters. Renewable materials are used throughout the Vanke Headquarters for doors, floors, and furniture.
Previously the Horizontal Skyscraper has been honored with several other prestigious awards including a 2011 AIA Institute Honor Award, the Green Good Design Award, and was named Best Green Project in the Good Design Is Good Business Awards.