Shenzhen Stock Exchange

Image courtesy of OMA; photography by Philippe Ruault

For millennia, the solid building stands on a solid base; it is an image that has survived modernity. Typically, the base anchors a structure and connects it emphatically to the ground. The essence of the stock market is speculation: it is based on capital, not gravity. In the case of Shenzhen’s almost virtual stock market, the role of symbolism exceeds that of the program – it is a building that has to represent the stock market, more than physically accommodate it. It is not a trading arena with offices, but an office with virtual organs that suggest and illustrate the process of the market.

Image courtesy of OMA; photography by Philippe Ruault.

All of these factors suggest an architectural invention: our project is a building with a floating base. As if it is lifted by the same speculative euphoria that drives the market, the former base has crept up the tower to become a raised platform. Lifting the base in the air vastly increases its exposure; in its elevated position, it can ‘broadcast’ the activities of the stock market to the entire city. The space liberated on the ground can be used as a covered urban plaza, large enough to accommodate public events. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange – which will rise to 246m – is planned as a financial centre with civic meaning, located in a new public square at the meeting point of the north-south axis between Mount Lianhua and Binhe Boulevard, and the east-west axis of Shennan Road, Shenzhen’s main artery.

Image courtesy of OMA; photography by Philippe Ruault.

The raised base of the SZSE is a three-storey cantilevering platform floating 36m above the ground, with a floor area of 48,000m2 and an accessible roof garden. The platform and lower tower contain the dedicated stock exchange functions, including an international conference centers, exhibition spaces, listing hall, and market watching department. The tower is flanked by two atria – a void connecting the ground directly with the trading floor. Staff enter to the west, the public to the east. Surrounding the west atrium is a 20,000 sqm base of commercial facilities. SZSE executive offices are located just above the raised podium leaving the uppermost floors free for rental offices and a VIP club.

Image courtesy of OMA; photography by Philippe Ruault

The generic rectangular form of the tower obediently follows the surrounding homogenous towers, but the SZSE facade is different. The tower’s structure is a robust exoskeletal grid overlayed with a patterned glass skin – the first time this type of glass has been used for an exterior in China. The patterned glass reveals the detail and complexity of construction while creating a mysterious crystalline effect as the tower responds to light: sparkling during bright sunshine, mute on an overcast day, radiant at dusk, glimmering during rain, and glowing at night.
The SZSE building is designed to be one of the first 3 star green rated buildings in China. It utilizes passive shading through recessed openings that form a ‘deep’ facade reducing the amount of solar heat gain entering the building, improving natural day lighting while reducing the energy consumption. Intelligent lighting systems shut down the interior day lighting when spaces are not in use. Rainwater collection systems are used and the landscape design is permeable to collect water locally and reduce run-off.

Image courtesy of OMA; photography by Philippe Ruault

The building was completed in 2012. The three-story floating podium is built with 27,000 tons of steel. A single joint in the supporting truss work weighs as much as 172 tons. OMA oversees the ambitious engineering and detailed design by working in an office with the client directly on the construction site – an unusual practice for foreign architects working in
China. OMA’s team is led by Associate Michael Kokora, with general project management by Partner David Gianotten.

Image courtesy of OMA; photography by Philippe Ruault

Program: Total 200,000 m2: rental offices, registration & clearing house, accessory area, securities information company, SSE office area, trading floor, technical operations area.

Image courtesy of OMA; photography by Philippe Ruault

CREDITS

Partners in charge: Rem Koolhaas, David Gianotten

Partner: Ellen van Loon

Associate in charge: Michael Kokora

Team: Yang Yang, Wanyu He, Daan Ooievaar, Joanna Gu, Vincent Kersten, Yun Zhang, Kunle Adeyemi, Ryann Aoukar, Sebastian Appl, Waichuen Chan, Jan Dechow, Matthew Engele, Leo Ferretto, Clarisa Garcia Fresco, Alasdair Graham, Leonie Wenz, Richard Sharam, Laura Baird, Matthew Jull, Franscesca Portesine, Lukasz Skalec, Lukasz Szlachcic, Lukas Drasnar, Christine Svensson, Matthew Haseltine, Jaitian Gu, João Ferreira Marques Jesus, Alex de Jong, Santiago Hierro Kennedy, Klaas Kresse, Miranda Lee, Anna Little, Luxiang Liu, David Eugin Moon, Cristina Murphy, Idrees Rasouli, Korbinian Schneider, Wolfgang Schwarzwalder, Felix Schwimmer, Michela Tonus, Miroslav Vavrina, Ferdjan Van der Pijl, Se Yoon Park, Na Wei, Xinyuan Wang, Ken Yang Tan, Su Xia, Yunchao Xu

Competition team

Rotterdam: Rem Koolhaas, Shohei Shigematsu, Anna Little, Christin Svensson, Jason Long, Carlos Garcia Gonzalez, Joao Bravo da Costa, Mauro Paraviccini, Mariano Sagasta, Bart Schoonderbeek, Konstantin August, Klaas Kresse, Kengo Skorick, Katharina Gerlach, Mendel Robbers, Hong Yong Sook, Beatriz MInguez de Molina, Martti Kalliala, Andrea Bertassi, Daniel Ostrowski, Yuanzhen Ou AMO: Todd Reisz, Brendan McGetrick Beijing: Ole Scheeren, Dongmei Yao, Hiromasa Shirai, Anu Leinonen, Tieying Fang, Pei Feng, Xinyuan Wang