Inspired by a sailing vessel, Wuhan Center Tower is appropriately situated beside the Mengze Lake in Hubei province, along the Yangzhi River. The tower is divided into five vertical sections, seamlessly integrating retail, office, and residential spaces, as well as a hotel. It is easily accessible from public transportation, designed to serve the needs of residents and guests, as well as the city’s burgeoning business community.

The primary design features that enhance the structure’s sustainability are the façade and an integrated energy core. A folding glass curtain façade enwraps the Wuhan Center, with two bevels running along its height. The slotted sides help reduce wind pressure on the building. The tower’s façade materials were carefully considered with respect to appearance and function. Fully glazed and sealed curtain wall systems allow more light into the space, but also increase solar heat gain. To address this issue, folding curtain wall units optimize shading performance, reducing solar radiation and indoor heat gain by 50% compared to a smooth curtain wall. Comfortable indoor temperatures are also maintained through a sophisticated air flow system, employing techniques such as using stratified air at the top of the tower in cooling systems.

The main focus of the tower’s core design is space efficiency. The core area reduces gradually as the building’s height increases, leaving more free space in the core tube to arrange mechanical, electrical, and auxiliary systems in an “integrated energy core.”
The tower’s design typifies the sustainable building concept, utilizing both architectural modeling and façade technology to create a high-performance structure, recognizing that as urban population density increases, and buildings grow taller by necessity, the environmental imperative is that much more powerful.