Büro Ole Scheeren has announced the completion of their latest high-rise design in Shanghai, called The Axiom. The 918-foot, 49-story tower is the first of two that will eventually form the heart of a mixed-use corporate campus known as The Springs on a central site in the Yangpu district for developer Tishman Speyer. 

The design is punctuated midway by a striking offset structural core, which, according to the firm, is unique to just 3% of the 500 tallest buildings in the world. 

Founder Ole Scheeren describes: “The Axiom is an emblem of the innovation that is now synonymous with Shanghai and forms an elegant urban landmark as the gateway to Yangpu District. Designed as a strategic hybrid of functionalism and iconicity, the twin towers represent the fluidity and dynamism of the future-oriented businesses they will accommodate.”

Rising from a shared podium base called the Culture Gate that connects to the surrounding development’s theater and other public spaces, the project was envisioned to embrace the “entrepreneurial spirit of Shanghai and the contemporary working environment.” 

A carved volumetric opening lined in gold-hued panels creates a Sky Terrace wrapping the midline of the form. This breaks the tower into two volumes and provides users with open-air zones for collaboration aligned to meet the rooflines of nearby structures, creating a sweeping view of the city beyond.  

Inside, an open and configurable office layout is made possible through the design of the core. Floor plates are therein freed from columns and the need to include building services, such as elevators and trash chutes, so that the interior spaces remain open to accommodate further expansion and collaboration, along with any changes demand necessitates in the future.

The design is completed by the crowning Roof Oasis garden feature. Ole Scheeren says it is partially inspired by the Seagram Building, adding in their press kit that it “presents a contemporary update to the archetype of the corporate skyscraper.”

Also in China, the firm has announced a resort project for coastal Hainan Island and will embark soon on another corporate commission for the headquarters of the Tencent company in Shenzhen. Another supertall project is forthcoming for Nanjing. 

Our recent feature conversation with Scheeren can also be read here.