CUBE TOWER PLANNED FOR CHINA

The proposed building will stand tall at 469 feet, comprising of 9 separate cubes of various sizes, seemingly stacked upon each other and looking out onto parts of the Pearl River.  Inside 34 elevators and 16 escalators will provide access to the exhibition hall, theatre, conference areas and the many commercial facilities; each attributing to the notion of a “mixed-use” high rise development.

The province of Foshan has a steadily growing population - presently just over 7 million residents.  It’s in response to this population growth that the local government and local businesses would like to the see city establish itself as a high-tech development hub.  The completion of this technologically advanced high-rise would certainly be a step towards that direction.

The exterior façade of each of the nine cubes will wear a different design motif inspired from traditional China.  This unique structural skin individually surrounding each cube will be fashioned solely from welded steel.  In addition to the visual aspect, the porous patterns will also allow cross winds to ventilate the building – allowing technology to work for the environment, rather than against it.

Purposefully pushing the boundaries of architectural design, the unique nature, and structure, of the Foshan Opera Tower presents a number of engineering challenges.  With the designers and architects at Godefroy Tang Architects, those responsible for the initial design, hoping to finish the installation phase by July this year, it’ll be interesting to see how the construction stage pans out.