For the City of Wenzhou, at the mouth of China’s Oujiang River, SOM designed a plaza and landmark tower that will reshape the city skyline and attract new development to the riverfront. The mixed-use tower draws on SOM’s history of functional form, updating the classic columnar skyscraper with elegant proportions and stainless steel sunshades that regulate heat gain, reflecting dappled light across the glass curtain wall. The building’s program of hotel, offices, and residential units led to its shape, a sleek 75-story tower capped by a hotel lobby that acts as a lantern for the city.