rippling glass facades and mountain-high towers shape urban district by AECOM

Mountain-inspired towers frame a central park in Shaoxing

AECOM’s Huafa Financial Vitality City in Shaoxing, China, draws on the region’s mountains and waterways to shape a mixed-use urban district. The design brings financial workplaces, hospitality, retail, and civic functions into a landscape-led framework, with a central park organizing the relationship between buildings and public space.

The architectural composition references the rhythm of local mountain ranges. Related building forms create a recognizable family of towers while allowing individual headquarters to retain their own identities. Their arrangement addresses views toward Meishan and Jinghu National Urban Wetland Park, making the surrounding landscape a reference for the district’s skyline.

Rippling glass and pebble-like forms reference waterscapes

A 168-meter International Financial Center anchors the composition by AECOM. Its orientation, rotated 45 degrees relative to the site, establishes a dialogue with the neighboring hotel tower. Subtle changes in the glass facade evoke ripples on the water, while the hotel podium takes inspiration from the rounded forms of water-worn pebbles.

At the urban scale, the proposal organizes complementary uses around the central park and a network of connections. The design seeks to bring the scale of the financial district into contact with everyday urban life, linking workplaces with shopping, leisure, and shared outdoor spaces.

project info:

name: Shaoxing Huafa International Vitality City
architect: AECOM

lead architect: Colin Franzen

project team: Teddy Tu, Wang Yue, Yang Qiao, Liu Yingda, Liu Xing, Li Guoping, Wang Feng, Echo Zhou, Li Sijia, Ran Xuerong, Eduardo Hidalgo, Zhou Pei, Xia Fan, Zhu Yinan, Huang Lu, Cang Lijia, Shen Yuqian, Dong Le, He Zhiqin, Li Xirong, Zhang Heyi, Xin Tan
location: Shaoxing, China

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