Shenzhens Wind Friendly Tower

Another unusual looking skyscraper is soon to start construction in the Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen situated near the border between the Peoples Republic and Hong Kong.

The Coop Himmelb(l)au design for the China Insurance Group will be 200 metres tall and 49 floors when complete. What makes it unusual looking is the sculpted design that sees the towers main body rise from a pure rectangle before gradually morphing with concave curves on its facades that have been penned to help reduce the wind-loads of the tower by effectively making it more aerodynamic.

Whilst the International glass block was aimed at creating the most efficient and functional building possible, the ability of today's computers to do complicated wind modeling has allowed architects to realise less isn't more and that curves can sometimes be good if they bend right way.

From a structural point of view this approach has a huge advantage over the traditional rectangle - lower wind-loads mean a lighter engineered structure and less material such as concrete and steel to build it adding cost savings to the construction budget.

Breaking the morphed design is a huge eight storey block that surrounds the tower about a third of a way up its height that cantilevers dramatically out into thin air, complete with a huge roof garden topping it. As with the main tower, it is clad with projecting horizontal fins that are designed to accommodate the wind flow as well as work in conjunction with it.