The project spans two adjacent blocks on the edge of the Jiangbei Financial District masterplan. The project’s two L-shaped towers, each 40 storeys in height, face each other from the north and south corners, while the podium of 3–4 storeys forms a perimeter that encloses almost the entire site to create the protective environment at its heart. This perimeter building bridges over pedestrian access routes and even the street between the two plots, creating a clear separation between the surrounding neighbourhood and the oasis at the centre of the design.

“The contemporary architecture of Nanjing takes its inspiration from nature in form and appearance”, says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “With Oasis Towers we wanted to push this trend to the max – not only emulating nature with curving, stratified ‘cliffs’, but also to literally incorporate nature into the design with the greenery and by tapping into natural processes.”

To respond to the office skyscrapers that will emerge in its surroundings, the design has a formal, gridded façade on the outer faces of the perimeter block. Elsewhere, this exterior skin gives way to the flowing curves of balconies, terraces, rooftops, and small pavilions clad in facades of recycled bamboo.