Construction has commenced on the MVRDV-designed Chengdu Jiaozi Courtyard Towers in the city’s financial district. The mixed-use complex comprises three office towers and a conference center sitting atop a ring-shaped plinth, with an architectural language that “recalls the traditional structures once located on the site.”

The three offers towers measure 262, 328, and 426 feet in height, respectively, and each occupies a corner of the square site. Below, the conference center serves as the “eye-catching addition to the site’s most prominent corner,” with a large cantilever and facade details inspired by the region’s bamboo-weaving traditions.

In contrast to the square arrangement of the towers and conference center, the base of the ensemble sees a ring-shaped connecting plinth creating a round courtyard. Located adjacent to the conference center, the plinth steps down to street level to “welcome people to the center of the site.”

Inside the courtyard, visitors encounter a modern interpretation of an assortment of one- and two-story buildings recalling the site’s history. Until the mid-2000s, the site was occupied by a small traditional village, which has since been torn down. The demolished buildings have been recreated in their original sizes and positions to serve as a retail village mixing shopping with cafes, bars, and restaurants to create a “charming and vibrant atmosphere within the bounds of the circular plinth.”

The facades of the office towers were informed by shadow studies of the site which determined where the sun would strike each part of the building’s surfaces. As a result, fins were incorporated on the facades at three different angles to limit solar gain. On the back of the fins, openable panels in the office interiors allow for user-controlled natural ventilation.

The roof of the towers and a portion of the facades contain over 38,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels, which combine with green roofs on the plinth, native vegetation, and water retention and reuse to allow the building to achieve LEED-Gold certification.

“With the Jiaozi Courtyard Towers, we were given an opportunity that is rare in China: A design project that adds the final puzzle piece to a new district,” said MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs about the scheme. “It is hard to imagine that this entire district was still rural 20 years ago.”

“We entered this competition during the pandemic and discovered the village via Google Earth,” van Rijs added. “With that in mind, we decided to create a historic world within. Seeing this while surrounded by three new towers, you become aware of the rapid transition that this place has gone through.”

News of the development comes weeks after MVRDV’s new demountable science building in Amsterdam opened with over 120,000 reusable components. Also in May, the firm began its effort to adaptively reuse the Expo 2000 Pavilion in Hannover, Germany, while unveiling plans for a green, porous residential building in Montevideo.