Foster + Partners has completed a 42-story office tower in the regenerated Suhewan area of Shanghai. Named the 'Suhe Centre for China Resources Land,' the 656-foot-tall tower is described by Foster + Partners as “a landmark building that offers truly modern workspaces which prioritize city and park views, comfort, and flexibility.”

The tower’s structure draws on the industrial aesthetic of the area’s historical Zhejiang Road Bridge and nearby warehouse buildings. A stainless steel structural frame has been pulled away from the tower’s corners to maximize interior views, while dark glazing on the facade reduces reflective glare.

Inside, the tower’s ground floor lobby contains undulating wall panels to emphasize the space’s 36-foot floor-to-ceiling height, and to “create a grand sense of arrival.” Above the entrance canopy, louvers on the facade create “dancing” shadows across the walls and floor, while the lobby’s reception desk is imprinted with a historical map of the Suhe River as a tribute to the site’s history.

Above the lobby, the tower’s office floorplates are column-free to enhance flexibility, while every level contains detachable floor slabs to enable multi-story connections. Along the western facade, the middle section of the building is recessed to enhance natural light in the floorplates, while a row of “scenic” elevators in the recess contains views of the park and river.

Among the sustainability features of the LEED Platinum tower are a rainwater recycling system for irrigation, a system for optimizing air quality, bicycle parking, and charging spaces.

“The Suhe Centre plays a central role in activating Suhewan and creating a vibrant new piece of the city,” said Foster + Partners studio head Gerard Evenden following the scheme’s completion. “The tower has been designed to enhance well-being, with plenty of natural light and open, column-free workspaces. It offers great views of the Jing An district, the Historical Bund, Pudong Lujiazui, and the Huangpu and Suhe rivers. Its flexible floorplates allow for a range of different layouts to support contemporary ways of working.”

The tower’s completion comes one month after Foster + Partners also completed work on the tallest building in Budapest, Romania. Other recent schemes by the firm to feature in our editorial are a major airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a cross-laminated timber scheme in London, and a “floating” extension to the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum in Spain.