Future Century Towers Shanghai
Innovative Construction Ahead of Its Time
The Future Century Towers transfer historic engineering expertise into the future. Two “floating” office towers use an innovative suspended construction to create a columnfree ground floor with maximum transparency to the public realm, as well as flexible floor plans and 270° views on the office levels.
Suspended construction as a continued driver of innovation in HPP’s history:
1966 Finnlandhaus Hamburg: Germany’s first suspendedconstruction building, added to Hamburg’s list of heritage monuments in 2002.
1970 Standard Bank Centre Johannesburg: With its innovative suspended construction, HPP became the first German architecture practice to take a project abroad.
2023 Future Century Tower Shanghai: Inspired by these historical examples, the project reinterprets the suspendedconstruction principle for today’s Shanghai.
The project is located on the eastern bank of the Huangpu River, embedded in the skyline of Shanghai Pudong. Proximity to the Yangpu Bridge and stringent height restrictions posed particular challenges. The aim was to preserve views of the river while creating a building that links city and waterfront.
This is achieved through a suspended structural system in which each storey is hung from the central loadbearing core. The resulting columnfree ground floor creates maximum openness and transparency. In the upper storeys, flexible layouts and columnfree corners enable unobstructed views of the river landscape.
The columnfree ground floor opens to the riverside promenade through an 8.5metrehigh glass façade. The vertical elements of the regular upperstorey façade respond to the angle of the sun, creating a dynamic interplay between light and shadow. Materials and detailing are deliberately restrained, reinforcing the building’s clear architectural expression.
The principle of suspended construction has been firmly rooted in HPP’s design repertoire since the Finnlandhaus in Hamburg and the Standard Bank Centre in Johannesburg. It remains relevant today as a key to openness and flexibility.
The innovative suspended structure of the 60's still stands today as a testament to the enthusiasm of that era for modern architecture and can serve as a model for how we approach innovative designs today.
- Project
- Future Century Towers
- Location
- Shanghai
- Client
- China Enterprise
- GFA
- 33.200 m²
- Completion
- 2023
