Project
Located in the Central Business District of Yinchuan, the capital of China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Greenland Center is a 306,000-square-meter mixed-use complex featuring two 301-meter-tall towers linked by a sinuous podium building. The design integrates a practical layout within the urban space, while the parallelogram plan geometry with rounded corners distinguishes the complex from adjacent rectilinear towers.
Solution
John Portman & Associates brought the project team together early in the design process to coordinate strategies for efficient construction, materials, water, energy, daylight, and site usage. The integrated BIM model provided a valuable collaboration platform. The architects were able to quickly and easily define the building geometry and translate that vision into a working model. Both internal and external team members were able to share information as it was developed.
Outcome
Greenland Center brings together an inspired design with structural and energy use considerations in one integrated system. The 3D design data produced in AECOsim Building Designer was easily integrated with the complex geometry generated in GenerativeComponents, allowing the project team to optimize the design of the enclosure and structural system. The rapid design iteration made possible by the Bentley software tools enabled the project team to achieve an optimal design while staying on schedule.
Software
The team used GenerativeComponents to optimize the design of the enclosure and structural system, and then easily integrated the complex geometry with AECOsim Building Designer. This integrated model was used to prepare architectural plans, elevations, sections, details, and schedules. Because sections could be cut early in the design process, problems with clearances and interferences between architecture and structure were detected early, allowing the design to be refined at an early stage.