World's tallest pair of towers to serve as 'environmental catalyst' for China

U.K.-based Chetwoods Architects has revealed plans for a pair of skyscrapers that will be the tallest in the world when completed. The Phoenix Towers are expected to reach 1 km, the same height as Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's Kingdom Tower, but would set a record for multiple towers in a single development, inhabitat reports.

The towers will be built on a 47-hectare island within a lake in Wuhan, China, the most populous city in central China. They are the focal point of Chetwood's four-pronged master plan for projects in China.

Outfitted with wind turbines, solar panels, thermal chimneys, and rainwater harvesting systems, the architects said that the towers will act as an "environmental catalyst" for the rest of the city.

On the towers' name and inspiration, the firm cites the traditional Chinese phoenix, which involves two birds: the male Feng and the female Huang.

"The plan was generated from yin-yang form to represent perfectly balanced union. Symbiotic: the Feng tower uses cutting edge technology to feed the Huang tower with renewable power," Chetwood Architects said in a statement.

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Arching bridge-like over the surrounding boulevards, each tower will have a unique personality and attributes: the Feng tower will lean towards the commercial zone, the Huang tower towards the cultural and recreational zone.

The project’s key emphasis is on the harmonious combination of 21st century Western technological know-how and experience with Chinese tradition and culture. In response to the Client’s wish to develop a new style of architecture that emphasizes Chinese identity, the use of a pair of towers reflects the dualist elements of Chinese culture in contrast to a more Western monolithic form.

The scheme will provide the environmental catalyst to re-invigorate the city, actively avoiding the disastrous consequences of developments elsewhere in China. It will form the nucleus of a wider green strategy linking Wuhan’s lakes environmentally and socially with the region’s landmark destinations and lake district along a 20km Green Wall of China to a new lakeside cultural tourist destination.

This landmark project will showcase social, economic and environmental sustainability within China, providing an entertaining and instructive experience for local people and visitors.

Structural features: Steel superstructure; concrete core with ‘hat’ truss; trussed structure at base; out-riggered for lateral stability; concrete buttresses.

Boyd R. Zoccola is Chair and Chief Elected Officer of BOMA International. A BOMA member since 1994, he has served on the Executive, Finance, Investment, and Medical/Healthcare Facilities Committees. An Indiana Real Estate Principal Broker and a board member of the Real Estate Round Table, he is Executive Vice President of Hokanson Companies, Inc., of Indianapolis, and has been involved in the development of $600 million worth of real estate. On a volunteer basis, Zoccola was president of Horizon House and a board member of Girls, Inc. He holds a BA in biology from Indiana University.