RMJM Shanghai was selected to design the Xiangjiang Gate. The gate design integrates “the history and culture of the region with the masterplan for the new city”.

With the aim to generate a monument for the city of Hengyang, the gate will act as a ‘gateway’ between culture, sustainability and modernity. The complex will be multipurpose and will include a tourist information centre and a panoramic platform. At 177 metres tall, the building will hold retail and cultural exhibition areas at the podium level, a museum, a panoramic restaurant, a cafe and lounge bar and a viewing platform on the top floor.

The Xiangjiang Gate’s concept is inspired by three important local elements: the river, the wild goose and the fire – all iconic essentials of the Hunan culture that are deeply rooted in the history of the city.

“The tower embodies two wild geese taking off from the water,” explained RMJM Shanghai. “One looking at the old city and another looking at the future one. The two bodies perpendicular to the river, form a gate or an entrance to the future master plan. At night, through curtain wall light effects, the two bodies transform into a big flame witnessed from different angles of the city.”

Looking from above, the project creates the illusion of a narrow stream of water passing through two plots, paying tribute to the geographical location of the city and its convergent spirit.

“Hangyang is a city where old and new, culture and modernity, converge in many aspects,” the firm continued. “The joint towers’ design brings us back to the essence of humanity: fire. Viewed upside down, the building becomes a goose flying through the sky.”

The design will embrace “the local environment and forms an interaction between technology, climate, building materials, and human behaviour”. The façade reflects the lights and colours of every season, mirroring the city’s environment. Hengyang, the region’s second-largest city and fast-evolving tech hub will have a gate that reinterprets the sustainable architectural design, combining a timeless and modern aesthetic with flexible and sustainable.

“The relationship between architecture and the environment has always been a complex one,” said Jiehe Qiu, CEO of RMJM Shanghai. “To reach harmony between the two, we at RMJM use climate statistics and engineering parameters to study the most appropriate design forms so that we can shape the best and most suitable architectural forms under special environmental conditions.”

Via ArchDaily | Images courtesy of RMJM