A "HOLE" NEW SKYLINE FOR CHINA

Located on the edge of the Pearl River, the 138 metre ‘Guangzhou Circle’ provides an iconic headquarters for Chinese companies Guangdong Hongda Xingye Group and GDPE Guangdong Plastic Exchange.

The project was designed and completed by Di Pasquale from AM Project, who won the international architectural competition held in 2009.

"The architectural concept is for a building that will be immediately perceived as a native Chinese landmark using a closed and central structure instead of the usual western skyscrapers stereotype," said Di Pasquale.

The total height of the building is 138 metres, consisting of 33 floors and 85,000 square meters of total floor area.  A circle with a 50 metre diameter punctures the heart of the structure, with elevated gardens located within the central void. When reflected in the river, the shape becomes an infinity symbol or a figure of eight - a lucky number in Chinese culture.

"It is inspired by the strong iconic value of jade discs and numerological tradition of feng shui, in particular, the double disc of jade is the royal symbol of ancient Chinese dynasty that reigned in this area around 2,000 years ago," said Di Pasquale.

The front and rear walls of the building are clad with copper plates, while the curved side walls are broken down into glazed rectilinear boxes.

The initial structural concept was developed and tested at the wind gallery of Polytechnic of Milan and the structural calculations and final test was developed by the South China University of Technology (SCUT) in Guangzhou.