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Shenzhen Energy Ring is one of the largest waste-to-energy plants in the world, processing about one-quarter of the domestic waste produced daily in Shenzhen with its 21.6 million population. Despite its complex functions, it is designed as a tapered and tilted lattice drum with a diameter of 324 meters, containing most of the plant’s functions within the smallest area possible to minimize on-site excavations.
The project is also designed to enhance community engagement and learning through exhibitions and walking tours. These provide an in-depth look at the incineration process via a glass-enclosed walkway. The tour aims to leave visitors with a lasting impression of the importance of minimizing waste in their daily lives by showcasing the huge scale of this facility to the public.
The design derives from a sensitive approach to its surrounding natural environment. By compressing multiple functions into a smaller area, the designed building coverage has achieved 11% less than the maximum allowed by planning regulations. And in turn, the saved buildable area is given back to a generous landscape park around the building. Through the permeable façade, workers in the plant enjoy the views to the lush green plantations at any time and are encouraged to embrace the scattered artworks and sports facilities within the park along with public visitors. In addition, an elevator takes people to the plant rooftop and a 1.1km walking route is designed around the building’s perimeter to overlook the roof PV installation and the surrounding nature and hills.
Shenzhen Energy Ring showcases waste-to-energy production as a vital technology for managing increasing waste, generating 1.2 billion kWh of renewable electricity annually. This facility's emission standards exceed EU standards. It is one of the first industrial buildings in China to achieve LEED Gold, with a roof fitted with an 18,000-square-meter PV array that generates 3.6 million kWh of electricity yearly. Its permeable envelope's daylighting and natural ventilation strategies were specially tuned to Shenzhen’s sub-tropical climate, to minimize electric lighting and AC needs. This project also follows the principles of low-impact development and integrates sponge city strategies, effectively collecting and filtering rainwater to be utilized for irrigation and replenishing cooling towers.
Shenzhen Energy Ring's design is to address the complexity of the power plant’s processes and express them in a simple, clear form. By transforming a typically rectangular building—shaped by the linear nature of the machinery—into a circular one, an otherwise mundane building type is elevated into something more iconic and impactful. The equipment layout inside is reorganized to be more compact, bringing spaces for education, exhibition, and research together around the edge of the circle. More than a vital piece of infrastructure, the Energy Ring is designed as a visitor experience to support community engagement and learning, offering exhibitions and walking tours both inside and outside. Experiencing the facility's scale leaves visitors with a lasting impression of the importance of minimizing waste in our daily lives. A hillside, stand-alone amenity complex is designed to provide dining, recreation, and accommodation for workers, researchers, and visitors. The design features a welcoming circular landscape courtyard and a warm timber-toned façade to blend into the natural surroundings. A 1.1-km rooftop green walkway on the main plant’s rooftop creates a more humanized work environment. Shenzhen Energy Ring demonstrates that a high-performing energy plant can be just as beautiful, sculptural, and poetic as it is environmentally responsible. By planning future adaptive reuse and welcoming the public, it represents a new model of sustainability for waste-to-energy.
“This project takes a bold stance on sustainability, both in China and on a worldwide scale. It not only processes domestic waste into clean electricity, contributing to waste reduction and harmless disposal, but also establishes as a high-quality benchmark for inspiring and educating. By embracing cutting-edge principles of waste classification and treatment, it raises the overall environmental awareness of the society.” Xianfeng Jiao, General Manager of Shenzhen Energy Environment Co., Ltd.
Schmidt Hammer Lassen (SHL) was founded in Aarhus, Denmark in 1986. The firm is one of Scandinavia’s most recognized and award-winning architectural practices. Working out of studios located in Copenhagen and Shanghai, the firm provides skilled architectural services all over the world, with a distinguished track record as designers of international, high-profile architecture. Cultural and educational buildings, offices, commercial, retail, and residential buildings, often in mixed-use developments and complex urban contexts, are cornerstones of the firm’s output. The practice has extensive global experience in the design of libraries and other public and cultural landmark buildings—including Shanghai East Library in Shanghai, China; Dokk1 in Aarhus, Denmark; and the Halifax Central Library in Halifax, Canada. SHL’s innovative, sustainable, and democratic approach to architecture has attracted global attention, winning more than 100 national and international awards.
