Light Portal: Iconic Twin Towers & Central Park in Yibin High Speed Rail City

Yibin High Speed Rail City is set to become one of the most well habitable cities in the Szechuan Area, thanks to a brand new High Speed Rail City Masterplan that is currently being built. Once the railway has been connected, the new High Speed Rail City will provide a home for an estimated population of around 400,000 people. The city is set to be connected to Chengdu by High Speed Rail in 2019, with the journey set to take just 50 minutes.

QUAD Studio has been selected as the chief architect and landscape designer of the 160m high iconic twin towers, which are set to become the gateway to the city. The towers will comprise a business hotel, offices and service apartment. The 270-room hotel will be located at the top of the tower, with a sky lobby. An executive club will be on the top floor at 150m, with a restaurant and bar serving hotel guests and VIPs.

The twin towers are set to form an iconic cluster right in front of the high speed rail station, like a gateway for people entering the Yibin High Speed Rail City. For the tower façade, the vertical solar shading fins will form a fluid pattern like water, as a narrative to the reflection of the river. The facade of the middle strip will have a gradient effect of fritted glazing from dark to light at the top, in contrast to the more reflective glazing on the two sides.

The twin towers will be flanked by a 1km long central park, which will occupy an area of 80,000 sqm. The park is set to become the main green spine of the Yibin High Speed Rail City, with the massing of the podium being broken down into a series of smaller boxes. The permeable massings will allow green nature to penetrate into the internal spaces, with the roofs of the boxes creating green terraces as an extension of the central park.

Overall, the Light Portal project in Yibin is set to become a stunning addition to the city. With an innovative design and a focus on green spaces, it is sure to attract visitors from all over the world.

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