Guangzhou Circle is a landmark building located in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It is the headquarters of the Hongda Xingye Group and the new home of Guangdong Plastic Exchange, the world's largest trading centre for raw plastic material with more than €25 billions euros of annual turnover in 2012.
Architect
The building was designed by Italian architect Joseph di Pasquale, The total height is 138 meters for 33 stories, The building consists of a total area of 85.000 square metres and about 1 billion RMB of global investment.
Location
Located at the south west boundary of the city the building stands on the bank of the Pearl River. It is a sort of south gate of the city for people who arrive at the new south high speed railway station of the city.
Design
The building is similar to another circular building in Shenyang, although, unlike the other, the central core is open, with no glass. It is the world's tallest circular building and with the unique feature of its almost fifty meters wide empty hole in the center. The designer stated he was looking for a design based on Oriental psychology and perception, finding in the Chinese use of logographic symbols sinogram in its writing, as an inspiration. In fact, the building is also called an "urban ideogram". Many other meanings are linked with the building: the iconic value of jade discs and numerological tradition of Fengshui. In particular, the double disc of jade is an ancient royal symbol of a Chinese dynasty which ruled in this area around 2000 years ago. The building reflection in the water of the river creates the same type of image: a double jade bi-disc. This figure also corresponds to the number 8 and infinity symbol which Chinese culture has a strong propitiatory value. The building also takes a reference from an idea of the Italian Renaissance; "quadratura del cerchio". The two circular facades contain and support suspended groups of storeys which are "squaring" the perfect circumference of the facades in order to make the interior space orthogonal and habitable. The public areas of the building are not yet open, although the public plaza in front is open. The nearest metro stop is Xilang. In 2014, CNN listed the building as one of the 10 most interesting buildings worldwide. Some critics believe that Guangzhou Circle is one of the most bizarre building in China. In the years following its construction, the Guangzhou Circle was identified as one of the iconic buildings of the city of Guangzhou. Its image has been used on various occasions for information posters in public places and for advertising campaigns.
