S Pellegrino Flagship factory, Italy December 7, 2019
A new high-rise building makes its impact on the skyline of Hangzhou, the Chinese metropolis with 9 million inhabitants. The 130-meter-high tower is part of the extension and redesign of the GDA Plaza, a business center in the traditional business quarter of the city, which includes a shopping mall and hotel. Architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), who had previously won the competition, oversaw the design and implementation.
West Lake is considered a focal point and special attraction of the old, traditional city of Hangzhou. Its exemplary cultivated landscape is an outstanding feature of this 9-million-person metropolis to the south-west of Shanghai and, in 2011, was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. At Wulin Square, in the midst of the flourishing business center not far from the lake, the GDA Plaza Hotel and Business Center was reopened. As part of a redesign and extension, the existing complex with hotel and shopping mall was recreated and made into a completely new unit.
The architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), who had previously won the competition in 2007, oversaw the design and implementation. At one corner, the GDA Plaza was substantially extended by a new 28-story building with a gross floor area of 57,500 square meters, whilst the existing main building was retained as far as possible but completely reorganized. This has created additional offices and commercial premises, as well as new leisure facilities such as cinemas and restaurants.