Tall buildings are the traditional drivers of density, yet the inherently stand-alone and repetitive nature of tall buildings is at odds with a generation which increasingly values mobility, social engagement, and individual expression. To remain socially and technologically relevant, the tall building needs to evolve and engage the full range of spatial and human experience. Is there a formula for an ‘other density’ which can define the people-centric city?

Searider is an evocative solution which harnesses the unique qualities of its site: a ‘new density’ of connected objects which create space. Equal parts courtyard and stair, Searider is a miniature city looped together. Offices, hotel rooms, restaurants, cultural and performance venues are each given terraces overlooking the South China Sea.

Marking the westernmost expansion of Shenzhen, Searider is the only building designated for development within an eight-kilometer long coastal park. The project’s three-story podium, containing an exhbition center and museum, is bermed over to create an artificial hill. This ‘thick’ base allows the park to flow freely through the project and conceals a significant amount of the project’s density.

The result is a form which is not only physically connected, but visually interlinked. The arrangement of terraces surrounding the central countyard means that every point in the project has line-of-sight to another: to see, and to be seen. On each platform, an opportunity to watch an impromptu performance happening above or below, or simply to sit and watch the sea.

Imagine again the isolated tower, the experience of going up and down every day but never sideways, seeing out but never stepping out. Imagine it shattered into a thousand pieces and reconnected in a loop of random happenings, hashtags, hangouts, and shared experiences: a building shaped around people.