Introduction:
On March 5, 2025, the Nanjing Southern New City Sino Finnish Cooperation and Exchange Center project officially launched the exterior lighting debugging.This architectural complex, designed with the concept of “breaking the ice”, resembles a “brilliant ice crystal” embedded in the banks of the Xiangshui River under the night sky. Its wavy glass curtain wall and dynamic light and shadow interweave, becoming a landmark landscape of low-carbon urban construction in Nanjing. The completion of this project not only demonstrates the deep cooperation between China and Finland in the field of green building, but also redefines the sustainable development path of future cities with innovative technologies.
Design concept and architectural aesthetics: from “breaking ice” to “breathing curtain wall”
The design inspiration for the Ice Cube comes from the imagery of ice breaking ships cutting ice blocks in the Baltic Sea. Through architectural language, the ice block form is transformed into a diamond shaped architectural complex with staggered heights. The steel wood structure exhibition hall facing the water on three sides resembles a floating “thick ice”, forming a dynamic response to the artificial lake environment. The exterior adopts a serrated shape, composed of three triangular modules arranged in a layered and undulating rhythm, combining artistic beauty and functionality.
As the main carrier of the “ice breaking” concept, glass curtain walls are also the core feature of architectural effects. During the lighting debugging phase, every detail of the glass curtain wall was infused with vitality. Through innovative light guiding tube technology, the curtain wall can accurately capture and guide natural light during the day, filling the interior of the building with warm and soft natural lighting, which is both energy-saving and environmentally friendly, perfectly interpreting the core concept of green building. These light rays undergo multiple refractions and reflections inside the curtain wall, forming delicate and layered light and shadow effects, as if sunlight penetrates through ice layers, both bright and mysterious.
At night, the LED lighting system seamlessly connects, bringing the “Ice Cube” into another dreamlike dimension.The designer cleverly utilizes the color adjustability of LED and combines it with the geometric shape of the curtain wall to create a “ice cube refraction” like illusion effect. The lights jump and interweave on the surface of the glass, forming unpredictable patterns of light and shadow, sometimes like a brilliant galaxy, sometimes like a deep ice valley. Every turning point of the light is like a reproduction of the refraction of natural ice crystals, endowing the building with dynamic beauty and infinite imaginative space.
Low carbon technology innovation: from energy supply to full lifecycle management
As a low-carbon ecological pilot demonstration project approved by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, IceCube integrates multiple internationally leading green technologies.
Renewable energy supply system: The regional energy station adopts water source heat pump technology to centrally supply cooling and heating energy to the building complex. The air conditioning load is 100% borne by renewable energy, and the annual emission reduction of carbon dioxide exceeds 2000 tons. The solar hot water system is linked with the rainwater recovery device, and the purified rainwater is used for greening irrigation and road flushing, achieving water resource recycling.
Practice of ultra-low energy consumption building: The steel wood composite structure exhibition hall adopts factory prefabricated modules, and the main structure of a single building only needs to be assembled on site in 15 days. The insulation and shading properties of the wooden structure reduce the energy consumption of the entire life cycle of the building by 40%.
Smart operation and maintenance system: The central computer room integrates subsystems such as energy stations, light pipes, and intelligent skylights to monitor energy consumption data in real time and automatically optimize operating parameters. For example, the air conditioning system can dynamically adjust according to room temperature, and the carbon emission management platform realizes data visualization.
Social and Urban Impact: From Demonstration Projects to International Benchmarks
The completion of Ice Cube has multiple meanings for the construction of low-carbon cities in Nanjing and even the whole country:
Technological demonstration effect: Its double-layer breathing curtain wall and prefabricated wooden structure technology have attracted multiple cities in the Yangtze River Delta to investigate, providing a template for the large-scale promotion of green buildings.
City image upgrade: As a benchmark for Sino Finnish cooperation, Ice Cube and the Zero Carbon Future City planning of Southern New City are linked to help Nanjing build an “international low-carbon hub” city brand.
Public participation education: The project plans to open for visits in the future, showcasing the principles of low-carbon technology and real-time energy consumption data to enhance citizens’ environmental awareness.
The lighting of the “Ice Cube” in Nanjing is not only a visual feast of architectural aesthetics, but also a declaration of the deep integration of low-carbon technology and urban governance. Its “breathing curtain wall” and “intelligent bloodline” provide a replicable green transformation path for global cities.In the future, with the injection of more innovative technologies, this’ Ice Cube ‘may catalyze a sustainable development revolution radiating from the Yangtze River Delta to Southeast Asia.
Post time: Mar-24-2025