RSHP's Hetao Alpha, a butterfly-plan office skyscraper in Shenzhen

British studio RSHP has completed Hetao Alpha, a 212-metre office tower in Shenzhen built on what the studio calls a butterfly layout. Two fully glazed wings, one of 37 storeys and one of 44, hang from a central concrete core above a mixed-use podium. The trickiest part, by RSHP's account, was combining two separate briefs from different clients into one coherent building.

The detail you'd notice is the view. Curved double-height glass at each wing's corners frames the Shenzhen Bay Wetlands to the west and Hong Kong's Mai Po Wetlands to the south, and even the lifts are glazed. Mega trusses on every twelfth floor carry the load, while louvred panels and vents let the tower ventilate naturally, helping it reach China's 3-star green building standard, which the studio likens to LEED Gold.

The public side is generous. A six-level podium holds sports facilities, a library, shops and a double-height arts exhibition space, with a roof terrace given half to planting, water and a feature wall. A second viewing platform sits on the west wing, and both are meant for visitors as well as tenants, including for watching migrating birds, a popular local pastime. A metro station and a sunken shopping plaza sit below.

The offices are for tenants, but the podium and terraces are a good reason for architecture fans and birdwatchers to stop by.

Our summary of a story from Dezeen, published 29 October 2026. Read the original

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