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Architect firm NBBJ to design new Tencent city in Shenzhen

By Valerie Kor

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

June 16, 2020 3:14 PM SGT

Award-winning architectural and design firm NBBJ has been selected to design the Net City, a 21.5 million sq ft, master-planned district along Shenzhen’s Dachanwan for internet company Tencent.

The architectural firm came out tops in an international design competition held by Tencent. The award-winning design “reflects the distributed network of the internet itself”, says Jonathan Ward, design partner at NBBJ.

The Tencent building will sit in the middle of the Net City, which is roughly the size and shape of Midtown Manhattan. The area will have office buildings, residential areas as well as public entertainment venues and parks. The heights of the buildings will be varied to “provide strong sightlines to nature, other buildings and the rest of the city”, says a press release from NBBJ.

The design incorporates open spaces and varying levels to reduce noise and pollution (Credit: NBBJ)

The surrounding areas will integrate “work, live, play” closer together, which also reflects the “collegial and collaborative culture of Tencent”, adds NBBJ. For instance, there will be open spaces and buildings of varying levels designed in a way to reduce noise and pollution. Net City will also be connected to amenities, bike paths and subway stations. The connecting green corridor that runs through the centre accommodates pedestrians, bicycles and autonomous vehicles.

Net City will also incorporate sustainable design, from photovoltaic panels on the rooftop, to sensors that track flooding and environmental performance. The design meets the goals of China’s Sponge City Initiative, which aims to use ecologically-friendly alternatives to combat flooding. To that end, Net City collects water on campus, manages run-off and flooding, and plants mangrove trees at the edge of the shoreline.

In 2018, Tencent opened the Tencent Seafront Towers, which were also designed by NBBJ. NBBJ also has experience designing for tech companies and organisations such as Alibaba, Amazon, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google and Samsung.

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