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MVRDV's Flower Building in Shanghai is Complete

MVRDV's Flower Building in Shanghai is Complete

In 2013, Rotterdam-based MVRDV won the competition to design and masterplan the so-called Sustainable Business Park at Shanghai Hongqiao. With the firm’s design set to open in early 2016, the first and main structure of the masterplan, the Flower Building, is now complete.

MVRDV designed the Flower Building to have both strong formal identity and rental flexibility. Due to its programmatic adaptability and environmental aspects, the Flower Building is set to receive the 3-star Green Building Label, the highest energy performance rating in China. The project was developed by Sincere Property Group.

The master plan will also include nine other MVRDV office buildings and one Aedas underground shopping center, that, together, will total 1.2 million square feet of offices, 506,000 square feet of retail space, and 590,000 square feet of parking. The Sustainable Business Park is adjacent to a high speed train station and Shanghai Hongqiao, the fourth busiest airport in mainland China. Originally dominated by boulevards and expressways, the complex is scaling down to embrace the pedestrian with walking streets and plazas, some meandering through the Flower Building itself.

Four “legs” merge as they rise to form a single building topped with plazas and pathways. The ground floor consists of retail, and the top floor is connected, fitting either one or multiple tenants.

The exterior facade consists of insulated paneling arranged in a shifting grid, creating a transparent ground level that becomes more opaque as the building rises. This contraction in the facade at the upper levels, along with the self-shading, cantilevered form, reduces the need for air-conditioning, according to MVRDV.

All ten MVRDV buildings will have green roofs meant to create habitat for local species. With this environmental sensitivity, along with proximity to public transportation, rainwater collection, and permeable road surfaces, the entire Sustainable Business Park will receive 3 stars for the Chinese Green Building Label.

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