John Portman & Associates was selected by Greenland Group, a prominent Chinese real estate developer and a Fortune 500 company, to design Greenland Yinchuan Super Tall Project, a two-tower mixed-use project located in the Yinchuan Yuehai Bay Central Business District. The project is expected to help invigorate local economic growth, facilitate the regional economic development and catapult the internationalization of Yinchuan by attracting large multi-national companies and top financial institutions. The towers, which combine office, hotel, office executive mansions and boutique retail spaces, will be the tallest in the northwestern region of China once completed.
     Portman Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jack Portman expressed his gratitude to the development group, "We are honored to have been chosen to take on such a high profile and important project for Greenland Group. We appreciate the opportunity to help bring the vision for Yinchuan's Central Business District to life." The design was chosen for its practicality as well as its skillful integration of the layout and urban space. As Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the project's design draws inspiration from the Chinese Hui, whose culture offers a unique blend of Islamic and Chinese influences. Additionally, the project is also an outstanding example of contemporary sustainable development, designed under the precepts of ecosystem protection.
     This approximately 306,000 sq m mixed-use complex features parallelogram plan geometry with rounded corners, which serves to distinguish the project's two elegant 301-meter tall towers from the adjacent rectilinear towers seen in the master plan. In a nod to the literal meaning of Yinchuan, the towers are linked by a "silver river," a podium building with a sinuous form. Rotating the towers and placing them in relation to each other creates, from two very similar towers, a sculptural composition of one form, ever evolving and changing from various vantage points. The project combines office, hotel, office executive mansions and boutique retail spaces with ample auto and bicycle parking provided below grade. Once completed, the towers will be the tallest in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China.
     For more information, images and plans on this project, please refer to BUILDING JOURNAL February 2013 issue.