MVRDV wins competition for Chengdu cultural center and office scheme

MVRDV has come out on top of an international competition to deliver a pair of new buildings as part of the forthcoming Tianfu Software Park development in Chengdu, China.

The scheme calls for the construction of two towers defined by a cascading vertical garden concept. The taller, 492-foot centerpiece office design features a full-height atrium at one corner extending from an open podium base and floor plates designed to maximize its occupants' views of the city. Openable facade panels are also included to contribute to the design's cross-ventilation. 

Once completed, the construction will deliver more than 775,000 square feet of offices reserved for tenants working at the leading edge of 5G, AI, and other high-tech industries.

A small triangular four-story cultural space is also part of the program. According to MVRDV, it will feature a walkable green roof with art galleries, a conference center, a library, and another small exhibition area. Once again, the proliferation of biophilia on its massing is emphasized. The firm says this combines with the site’s location to form a seamless transition between city and nature in line with Chengdu’s comprehensive “Park City” vision for 2040.

“In our designs for both office tower and cultural center, the atrium is key," MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas said. “Though they take different forms — one more vertical and the other terraced and traversable — both atria serve the same Functions. They bring in greenery, they connect the buildings from bottom to top, they provide shading and ventilation that make the buildings sustainable, and most importantly, they make these buildings exciting, social places to be.”

The firm expects work on their portion of the Tianfu Software Park development to begin shortly. Once it does, it will join a list of other MVRDV designs in the Chengdu metro region that includes a 2020 proposal for the Sky Valley innovation district and the Jiaozi Courtyard Towers that began construction in June of last year.