The Dimensions Of Workplace Wellness
Can skyscrapers do a better job of connecting people at work, and keeping them healthy? NBBJ’s design for Tencent’s new corporate headquarters in Shenzhen’s Binhai district reimagined the high-rise as a connected environment for 10,000 employees.
NBBJ developed a ‘vertical campus’ by connecting a pair of towers (50 and 39 storeys high) with multiple-level links that offer green zones, fitness amenities, community areas and gathering areas. Social science research informed NBBJ’s conceptualisation of an environment intended to help people work and feel better.
“We’ve linked two high-rise towers with innovative sky streets that are much more than just throughways,” says Jonathan Ward, Design Partner at NBBJ. He continues, “They serve as community gathering spaces designed to build rapport and emphasise health and wellbeing at work.” The bridge links are, suggests NBBJ, much like the traditional quads of a sprawling corporate tech campus, offering distinct amenities and experiences.
Each of the three link bridges has a specific focus. The ‘Culture Link’ interfaces with the general public. The experience begins at ground level and incorporates lobby and reception areas, retail and exhibit spaces, meeting rooms, an auditorium and restaurants.
The ‘Health Link’ starts on level 21 and features a running track, gym, basketball court, juice bar and café, as well as sports facilities (including a swimming pool) at the top of the north tower.
Starting on level 34, the ‘Knowledge Link’ emphasises learning, knowledge and mindfulness through conference rooms, a dining hall, a training centre and rooftop gardens (the latter appearing atop each link bridge). Tencent’s own university is also located in the ‘Knowledge Link’, along with meditation rooms and a library.
“The Tencent Seafront Towers promote communication, interaction and diversity of experience – the very engines that drive creative, economic and cultural development,” says Robert Mankin, Partner in Charge of Workplace Design at NBBJ.
Alongside the emphasis on the wellbeing of the workforce, thought was also given to how the building could serve the wellbeing of the city. The Tencent headquarters is the first structure to meet the criteria of China’s ‘Sponge City’ program, which targets low-impact development and comprehensive urban water management. Overall, sustainability initiatives at Tencent are expected to reduce energy consumption by an estimated 40 per cent in comparison to a typical office tower. Photo by Tim Griffith.