Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre / KPF / China

Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre

• Architects:  Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Leigh & Orange, Guangzhou Design Institute
• Location:  Guangzhou, China
• Client:  Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, Guangzhou Xinyu Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.
• Structural Engineer:  ARUP, Leslie E. Robertson Associates
• Structural Material:  Composite
• Building Type:  Hospitality, Mixed-Use, Office, Residential, Retail, Super-tall  
• Project Area:  508,000 m2 / 5,400,000 ft2  
• Building Height:  530 m / 1,739 ft  
• Units:  251 Rooms / 355 Residences 
• Project Dates:  2009-2016 
• MEP Engineer:  WSP / Parsons Brinkerhoff 
• Project Manager:  New World China Land Limited
• Main Contractor:  China State Construction Engineering Corporation  
• Facade Consultant:  ALT Limited
• Fire / Geotechnical Consultant:  ARUP
• Landscape Consultant:  P Landscape Co  
• Lighting Consultant:  Lighting Planners Associates; Isometrix Lighting + Design Ltd.
• Wind Consultant:  BMT Fluid Mechanics Ltd.; RWDI  
• Elevator Consultant:  Hitachi Ltd.
• Steel Consultant:  China Construction Steel Structure Corporation

CTF Finance Centre

Rosewood Guangzhou

As China's second tallest structure, the Chow Thai Fook (CTF) Finance Centre demonstrates the alignment of supertall design with cultural environmental and contextual sensitivity.

Guangzhou, located on the Pearl River Delta, is a megalopolis of southern China that leads the country in economic power. Completed in 2016, the 530 meter tall CTF Finance Centre is the city's tallest building and represents the region's recent prosperity and urban growth. The project is adjacent to a large central park and a subterranean retail concourse with transportation interchanges, integrating the project into the city and the wider region.

At its base, the tower is linked to public transportation through basement-level connections and to adjacent buildings via pedestrian-level bridges. The design of Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre is derived from the efficient synthesis of its multiple uses. Its form is sculpted at four major transition points: residential to hotel, hotel to crown, and crown to sky. Instead of tapering to accommodate the smaller floor plates required for different programs, the tower steps back at four angled parapets. These four setbacks allow for lush sky terraces and dramatic skylights.

The tower's multiple programs instruct its unique form while maintaining dialogue with the city's architectural identity. Vertical massing steps accommodate the changing floor plates size requirements of its varied program types and highlight the tower's relationship with neighboring supertall landmarks, the Guangzhou West Tower and the Canto Tower. The chiseled setbacks also provide a crescendo to the city skyline.

Careful attention was paid to the material section for the tower. Thus, a series of subtle terracotta mullions line the tower's elevation. This material played a very important role in both Eastern and Western history, and is also beneficial from an environmental standpoint. The embodied energy of terracotta is far less than aluminium, glass, or steel. It is self-cleaning and corrosion-resistant. Moreover, it can be produced in many locations in China, reducing the environmental impact of shipping. These terracotta mullions were designed to project out from the glass on an angle to provide shading on the exterior.

Positioned as a crystalline form that ascends to the sky, the centre features a terracotta facade attuned to the material's history. Its shining finish evokes the bright white lines of its nearby companions, maintaining visual regularity while pushing its boundaries.

The tower was constructed with a structural system composed of a central core and eight perimeter mega-columns linked with a series of the outriggers and belt trusses spread throughout the overall height of the building. The application of which was an unconventional approach in seismically active areas of China often requiring additional redundancy in structural design, potentially serving as a precedent for future supertall building concepts.

The building employs a number of energy efficient tools to reduce its environmental footprint, in addition to its strong multi-level connections to public transportation, the use of high-efficiency chillers and heat recovery from the water-cooled chiller condensers all contribute to the building's sustainability.