Steven Holl Architects has won a competition to create the design of the headquarters for iCarbonX, a genome machine intelligence company in Shenzhen, China. The project consists of two towers – “Body A” , which is a 150-meter-tall residential building, called the “Living” element, and “Body B”, the 200-meter-tall “Working” element, filled with labs, offices and public reception spaces. Both of them are connected by four green bridges acting as carbon bonds. The lower two bridges form public outreach spaces, galleries, meeting spaces and a clinic. The iCarbonX clinic forms a central element to the “living” and “working” towers, bringing science to daily life.
The architectural design is inspired by the study of genes and DNA. Shade is provided by a curtain wall of fritted glass with varying levels of translucency. The ground public space has water gardens and a central recycled-water “Pool of Knowledge.” Public space is partially embedded in the ground, and the pool’s continuously circulating water masks the sounds of the city, creating a peaceful space.
The project is expected to begin construction in the Fall of 2019.
https://www.archdaily.com/915652/steven-holl-designs-dna-inspired-science-headquarters-in-shenzhen