Images | Work starts on complex structural façade on Chinese skyscraper

The Shenzhen Institute of Financial Technology sits on a narrow site at the centre of Shenzhen’s Futian district.

The building, which is 199 metres tall, will house the research institute’s development laboratories, technology exchange, data centres and training campus.

Construction progress on the Shenzhen Institute of Financial Technology (Image courtesy of ZHA)

Zaha Hadid Architects mapped and modelled the annual paths of the sun’s rays across the site, with set-backs introduced into the tower’s volume to optimise the amount of direct sunlight reaching the district’s streets, public plazas and existing buildings.

The tower’s façade will feature vertical and angled glazed mullions, in black and bronze colours to emphasis the design’s contours.

A digital rendering of how the finished building will look (Image courtesy of ZHA)

General contractor China Construction Second Engineering Bureau is building the building, while SPES is undertaking the façade engineering and CSCC is acting as project manager.