Phoenix Towers Plan Unveiled

Chetwoods Architects, a British architectural firm, unveiled plans this week to build the world’s tallest and greenest towers. The Phoenix Towers as they are being called would be built in the Chinese city of Wuhan and would each stand 1,000 meters tall. In addition to being 150 meters taller than the Burj Khalifa, the two towers could actually help clean the city’s air and water and claim to be among the greenest skyscrapers in the world. Chetwoods submitted plans to the mayor of Wuhan six months ago and is waiting for approval to move forward with the project.

Although Wuhan is not among the first few cities that come to mind when thinking about China, the Phoenix Towers’ architects are hoping that building the two skyscrapers will change that perception. According to Laurie Chetwood, chairman of Chetwoods Architects, the project will be "an iconic landmark within an ambitious environmental master plan for Wuhan. This is a big iconic statement that says 'this is Wuhan, look at us, we're here, but it's an environmental statement as well. It would help to improve the area."  The towers would be built on an island in the middle of a lake in Wuhan, and the project is expected to cost £1.2 billion.  Construction on the towers could begin by the end of the year if Chetwoods receives approval soon from Wuhan’s mayor. It is expected to take three years to complete the project once construction begins.

The Phoenix Towers will use green technologies including suspended air gardens and waste recycling via biomass boilers to help power themselves. The project borrows some green elements from the 2009 London Bridge project as well. These include an advanced filtration system to recycle clean water from the lake and lightweight photo-voltaic cladding to produce solar power.

The buildings were designed based on the traditional Chinese Phoenix symbol of two birds and the traditional Yin/Yang form. The two towers are referred to as Feng and Huang after the male and female phoenix birds. According to Chetwoods, “one tower uses cutting edge technology to feed the other tower with renewable power in a symbiotic process.”  The Phoenix Towers design also includes three floating spheres attached to one of the towers.  The spheres will have celestial themed restaurants and will be accessible by a spacewalk. The rest of the area on the 47-hectare plot of land will be divided into cultures of the world sections including French Street and Japanese Street.