Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has completed the new headquarters for WeBank, a Tencent-founded digital-only bank and fintech pioneer, in Shenzhen’s Qianhai Business District.
The 148-meter, 30-story tower has an expressive form defined by staggered floor plates and double-height openings, creating a porous facade that promotes airflow and daylight. Expansive open-plan offices are designed for comfort and collaboration, with direct access to outdoor terraces and natural light. The large floor plates—exceeding 4,000 square meters—enable flexible team configurations, a key advantage for the dynamic needs of financial and tech companies. Multi-level indoor atria facilitate connectivity across departments, while a suite of leisure- and wellness-focused amenities—including a basketball court, gym, outdoor pool, cafeteria, and auditorium—cultivates a sense of balance and community throughout the day.
The LEED Platinum-certified tower—also targeting China Green Building Label 3 Star certification—incorporates a mix of passive and active environmental strategies tailored to Shenzhen’s subtropical climate. Solar-responsive facades filter glare and reduce heat gain, using overhangs and recessed balconies to cut solar radiation by more than 50 percent, which lowers cooling demands and contributes to a more comfortable indoor environment year-round. A network of automated systems manages these responsive features, maintaining optimal indoor conditions with minimal mechanical intervention.
A holistic Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) strategy guides the building’s approach to comfort, air quality, and energy efficiency—with natural ventilation serving as a central component. Guided by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, the ventilation strategy combines operable facades with stack-effect atria that act like vertical fans, drawing fresh air up through the building. A network of environmental sensors monitors outdoor air quality and temperature, allowing the system to activate natural ventilation only when conditions are optimal. As air moves through the tower, it passes through a series of vegetated terraces planted with native Lingnan species, which help filter pollutants and enrich the indoor microbial environment.
On the rooftop, a landscaped garden provides space for relaxation while capturing rainwater for irrigation and managing stormwater runoff. The roof is also designed to support solar integration in line with WeBank’s long-term sustainability objectives.
