The traditional Chinese phoenix symbol suggests the perfect balance of yin and yang, and is a popular sign adorning everything from buildings to pottery across the eastern country.
And now it has inspired the design of a pair of skyscrapers that, if built, will measure 3,280ft (1km) tall.
The Phoenix Towers have been designed to be a soaring centre piece for the city of Wuhan - the capital of central China - and could become the world’s tallest pair of skyscrapers as early as 2017.
The world's tallest building is currently the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, at 2,722ft (829 metres).
Continue......more photos after cut.
Once completed, the Chinese skyscrapers would be same height as the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia planned for 2018.
As well as their collective incredible height, visitors to the city of Wuhan would also be able to see vast ‘planets’ orbiting the towers, as well as take in the world’s tallest kaleidoscope.
The imaginative design was dreamt up by London-based architects Chetwoods for Wuhan’s HuaYan Group.
The towers would cover seven hectares of a 47 hectare site, situated on an island in a lake, which is at the end of a 9,842ft (3km) avenue within a dense city layout – a little like a futuristic Eiffel Tower.
The city itself is known as the city of a thousand lakes.
However, the building of the huge £1.2billion ($2billion) project depends on approval from the Mayor of Wuhan. If it goes ahead, the towers could be built within just three years.
‘In response to the client's wish to develop a new style of architecture that emphasises Chinese identity, the use of a pair of towers reflects the dualist elements of Chinese culture in contrast to a more western monolithic form,’ the architects said.
Based on the traditional Chinese phoenix symbol of two birds, male Feng and Huang, the plan was generated from the yin and yang form to represent perfectly balanced union.
The Feng tower uses cutting-edge technology to 'feed' the Huang tower with renewable power in a symbiotic process.
Among the technological features planned for the structure are ways to recycle and clean water and air, in a bid to reduce local pollution levels.
In the design, there are three large spheres suspended between the two skyscrapers, which represent 'planets' orbiting the towers.
These are set to house restaurants that will have a celestial theme and are accessed via 'skywalks' from the towers themselves.
The main tower would accommodate the world's tallest kaleidoscope, driven by a wind turbine at a high level to create a colourful display when viewed from below.
Chetwoods said the project would showcase social, economic and environmental sustainability in China if it gets the go-ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment