The 387,500-sf Yangtze River International Conference Center has recently completed and opened in China’s Nanjing Jiangbei New District. The project is situated at a key juncture between China's eastern coastal cities and the Yangtze River Delta region.
The conference space is attached to a tower with a four-star hotel featuring 340 rooms that offer scenic views of the Yangtze River. The flowing curves of the Yangtze River are reflected in the building’s undulating podium while the titanium roof paneling evokes sunlight playing on the water’s surface. Rising above the podium, the shear, broad angles of the hotel tower evoke the sail of a junk, the traditional wind-powered river boat once common on the Yangtze.
In the building’s podium, the large program areas of the convention center contains a series of flexible conference spaces bisected by a central 200-meter arcade, dividing the building into a north and south wing. The arcade serves as the primary circulation spine for the building, intersected by short, perpendicular bridges providing access from VIP entrances and the hotel tower. The convention center’s entrance and atrium is illuminated by a skylight, highlighting the hotel tower.
Located between the river and the city, the site’s boundaries shape the conference center’s wavelike forms and urban character. On the city side, to the north, the hotel tower’s facade utilizes a metal brise-soleil system. During the day, the metal façade serves to shade the building and increase energy efficiency. In the evening, lighting integrated in the façade creates a distinctive night-time presence within the city.
On the southern river side, the sinuous quality of facade mirrors the organic nature of the river’s edge, with a rippling metal and glass brise-soleil comprised of over 90,000 distinct metallic panels. The landscape is designed following a "sponge landscape" principle, strengthening ecological infrastructure by aiding in responsible management of runoff especially important to the riverside site. The high-performance facades and environmentally conscious landscape design contribute to the building's "3-Star rating," the highest sustainable design grade recognized by China's national green building standard.
Related Stories
| Jun 12, 2014
Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method
Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.
| Jun 11, 2014
Bill signing signals approval to revitalize New Orleans’ convention center corridor
A plan to revitalize New Orleans' Convention Center moves forward after Louisiana governor signs bill.
| Jun 11, 2014
5 ways Herman Miller's new office concept rethinks the traditional workplace
Today's technologies allow us to work anywhere. So why come to an office at all? Herman Miller has an answer.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
Smart Buildings | Jun 8, 2014
Big Data: How one city took control of its facility assets with data
Over the past few years, Buffalo has developed a cutting-edge facility management program to ensure it's utilizing its facilities and operations as efficiently, effectively, and sustainably as possible.
| Jun 2, 2014
Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages
The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.
| May 30, 2014
Riding high: L.A., Chicago working on their version of the High Line elevated park
Cities around the U.S. are taking notice of New York's highly popular High Line elevated park system. Both Chicago and Los Angeles are currently working on High Line-like projects.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
| May 21, 2014
Gehry unveils plan for renovation, expansion of Philadelphia Museum of Art [slideshow]
Gehry's final design reorganizes and expands the building, adding more than 169,000 sf of space, much of it below the iconic structure.
