The Chengdu Three Gorges Office Building is the southwest regional headquarters of the China Three Gorges Corporation and is located within the south sub-center of the Chengdu High-tech Park. The building is divided into two towers, north and south, connected by a three-story podium. The South Tower contains the headquarter offices, and has the Southwest Power Dispatching Center located on top. The North Tower is a five-star hotel managed by Howard Johnson Hotel Management Group. Hotel auxiliary functions and meeting functions are arranged in the podium.
As the headquarters of the China Three Gorges Corporation, the building required a concise and powerful image. Therefore, the overall design consists of a relatively simple arrangement of two towers of similar volume facing each other across an open space. The facing sides of the towers have been slanted in reference to the mountains on both sides of the Three Gorges. The surface of the connecting podium has been clad with light gray stone, and there are pools and waterfalls set on the roof and sides of the podium, conceptually representing the Three Gorges Dam. Thus the functional requirements and formal expression have been united in a modern uncomplicated manner that nevertheless conveys greater symbolic meaning.
However, the design does not pursue architectural form for form’s sake; it also achieves the integration of its forms with its internal functions. For the hotel, the guest rooms have been arranged along the periphery of the building, forming a vast trapezoidal atrium in the middle. This provides a characteristic spatial experience for the hotel. For the headquarter offices, the large volumetric depth allowed for a similar atrium, which will create a greater sense of unity for the staff within.
Through simple design techniques, the various functional volumes have been arranged to create an impressive architectural image both inside and out.
Client: China Three Gorges Corporation
Location: Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Site Area: 23,000 m2
Building Area: 99,000 m2
Design Date: 2010
