Lunar Shenzhen Snøhetta Qianhai landmark design proposal full massing urban context render © Snohetta
Curated by ArchiRev Editorial | Feature Story | Published May 26th 2026 | Source: Snohetta
Typologies: Installation & Commissions
Themes: Architecture
Status: Design Proposal
Location: Shenzhen, China
Year: 2020
Competition Host: Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen; Shenzhen Bureau of Urban Planning and Natural Resources
Result: Second Place — No Final Winner Declared
Lunar Shenzhen designed by Snøhetta is an entry for the International Competition for the Landmark Design of the Qianhai New City Center, where the entry secured the second place out of several other entries without giving a conclusive result to the competition. It starts by posing a question about the nature of landmarks that determines whether they mark the land or their time. The firm’s response to that question is that both are true.
Lunar is envisioned as a landmark dedicated to the age of data, which represents the past five centuries’ interaction of Shenzhen with the rest of the world as well as the invisible network of data that defines the current situation.
Lunar Snøhetta Shenzhen landmark night render data era luminous beacon Qianhai New City Center © Snohetta
The image of Shenzhen as a location for experimentation is not a new one. The Nantou System of the 16th century made Shenzhen into a place where the relationship between China and the rest of the world was negotiated – a task that it has performed, in different forms, for 500 years.
Since its creation as a special economic zone until its current prominence as the center of the Greater Bay Area, it has always been China’s test bed for major national-level policy initiatives. This project uses that legacy as its starting point.
Lunar Snøhetta Shenzhen conceptual diagram maritime vessel data transmission moon symbol Qianhai landmark © Snohetta
The description provided by the proposal states that Lunar consists of pieces of a ship. A ship whose purpose is to communicate data into the world. This is not merely an ornamental description. It makes direct reference to the site’s history of trade through the seas and also to the notion that Shenzhen has been all along a port through which China interacts with the rest of the world, only in the 21st century this is done by means of data, not cargo.
The central concept behind the proposed idea creates a clear analogy with the building achievements that were accomplished during earlier technological ages. Medieval cathedrals were constructed with the aid of the latest technologies pertaining to stone masonry – they became the symbols of those technological ages. The Eiffel tower that was completed in 1889 made use of the latest steel construction technology – it became the symbol of industrial France. Both constructions are inherently tied to their corresponding technological age.
Render or diagram establishing the comparative logic between the Eiffel Tower as a landmark of the industrial era and Lunar as a proposed landmark of the data era — illustrating the structural and conceptual progression © Snohetta
Lunar suggests that 130 years after the creation of the Eiffel Tower, humanity has stepped into an age of data—and that an icon of this age should represent data in the manner in which the Eiffel Tower represented the power of steel construction. The structure will be designed to be one single moon, a symbol of the data that characterizes the region of Greater Bay and the country as a whole.
This concept is a product of collaboration with structural engineers from Schlaich Bergermann partner, whose expertise in designing long-span, lightweight structures has been instrumental in translating the concept into an idea that can be technically achieved.
Climate and energy consultants from Transsolar KlimaEngineering helped shape the performance dimension of this proposal to match the concept dimension. Dr. David M. Baker, an astronomer, provided expertise concerning the concepts associated with the moon and the sky.
Technical structural diagram or render showing the structural system of the Lunar proposal — the primary load-bearing elements, the surface treatment, and the engineering logic behind the spherical or crescent massing © Snohetta
The artistic aspect of the project was devised in partnership with artist Kingsley Ng, who often creates work that engages with the convergence of technology, light, and space. The partnership ensured that the argument being made about the information era in relation to the project would take on a physical, sensory aspect – that is, it would turn from an abstract theory into a real-world proposition
Interior workspace view showing the optimised daylighting conditions, the energy-efficient artificial lighting strategy, and the quality of the working environment for tenants © Snohetta
Lunar came in second place in the contest. The contest ended without declaring a clear winner, which means that the proposal will stand as an expression of intent rather than as a brief for a building. Nevertheless, it represents one of the most lucid and historically informed statements to date regarding what a monument is supposed to be and to do within the framework of a Chinese city of the 21st century.
Final render showing Lunar in its most resolved state — the complete proposal as submitted to the competition, demonstrating the integration of massing, structural expression, data transmission concept, and urban context © Snohetta
Lunar is a conceptual design from Snøhetta dating back to 2020. Client/competition organizer: The Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen and Shenzhen Bureau of Urban Planning and Natural Resources.
Architect: Snøhetta
Collaborators:
Structural Engineer: Schlaich Bergermann Partner
Environmental Engineering: Transsolar KlimaEngineering Astronomical
Consultant: Dr. David M. Baker
Artist Collaboration: Kingsley Ng