Leatop Plaza: 2012 Winner

The SKYDB Awards recognize high-rise buildings that unite architectural quality with practical performance, and Leatop Plaza in Guangzhou was selected as the 2012 SKYDB Awards Winner.

The 303-meter office tower marks the northern end of the main axis through Zhujiang New Town. Its square plan rises as a taut glass prism before ending in a sharply inclined roof. Layered facade panels overlap like shingles, adding depth to the surface and providing exterior shade.

The sloping lobby ceiling follows the line of the structural bracing and is echoed by a glazed sky garden near the top. These cuts relieve the severity of the simple volume without weakening its vertical emphasis. The award recognizes an efficient office tower whose structural geometry continues from the entrance to the crown.

Architect: JAHN, with the Architectural Design and Research Institute of South China University of Technology