Client: Sunpowerl Development Group
Location: Shanghai, China
Site area: 100000㎡
Design period: 2005

In the Lujiazui financial district of Shanghai, this project stands at the head of the so-called “first row” along the Huangpu River, i.e., the row of high rises lining the river bank, near the Oriental Pearl Tower, which is literally the most important and representative urban landmark in Shanghai, or even the entire country. Amid the race to build the tallest mega-structure along the Lujiazhui skyline, we adopted a preliminary design concept that would break away, in a metaphoric sense as well as in forms, from restrictions imposed on the construction site. After a series of architectural efforts, the building took a form that evokes the image of fish jumping above the surface of Huangpu River, as the Chinese expression: “fish jumping over the Dragon Gate” indicates a sudden breakthrough. A dot pattern suggesting the size of Chinese population (at the time when the final proposal was approved) set against the Chinese red appears on the screen-printed glass that covers the facade of fish scale-inspired structure. In the sunlight, the interplay of light and shadow reflects the building’s distinctive features while dynamically redefining and activating the Lujiazhui skyline in frozen moments.