MVRDV Designs 250-Meter Vanke 3D City Tower in Shenzhen

Dutch architecture firm MVRDV has unveiled Vanke 3D City, a 250-meter tower in Shenzhen, China, for real estate developer Vanke Group. The structure comprises eight stacked blocks housing offices, a hotel, cultural and commercial spaces, and extensive open areas. The design connects two separate lots divided by a road, creating semi-public spaces, rooftop gardens, and large openings dubbed 'windows on the world.' Each block corresponds to a Vanke core value: health, energy, open, team, green, nature, future, and creative. MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas describes the project as a new skyscraper type that transforms two individual buildings into a vertical city. The tower incorporates sustainability features aligned with Shenzhen's Sponge City Program, including water collection and recycling systems and high-performance facades. Construction is slated to begin in summer 2019. The concept builds on MVRDV's earlier Vertical Village project from 2009, evolving into what the firm calls a 'connected monolith.'