HarbourCity Aeternove Mansion residential show area opened in Wuhan
On 26 August, the HarbourCity Aeternove Mansion residential show area officially opened in Wuhan, alongside CITIC Pacific Real Estate’s Path of Products series event.
As project’s lead designer, Tang Wei, Project Director at Benoy Shanghai Studio was invited to speak at the event. From an international design perspective, she unpacked the project’s signature concept of “racing sails, competing boats,” describing it as “a design code of contemporary aesthetics, drawn with the Yangtze River as ink,” and offered the audience fresh insight into the vision behind this landmark development.
A shared voyage
At the event, Tang Wei expressed gratitude to CITIC Pacific Real Estate for its trust and collaboration, noting:
“The Benoy team has always embraced the philosophy of dialoguing with the city through design and carrying life within space. For Plots 29 and 30 at the heart of CITIC Pacific HarbourCity, with unobstructed views of the Yangtze River, the project is not only a key part of the area’s high-end offerings but also carries the mission of defining Wuhan’s riverside image. As prime riverfront plots within the Aeternove Mansion project, the design challenge was to create façades that truly serve as a dialogue between city and river — a vision we shared with our client, CITIC Pacific.”
Sails in the skyline
For the project, Benoy created façade design schemes for the commercial component, comprising four standalone towers rising 100 to 120 meters.
Inspired by the Yangtze’s shipping culture of “racing sails and competing boats,” the design responds directly to the riverside setting: an undulating skyline mirrors the rippling river, creating a visual dialogue between city contours and water.
Staggered, layered sail-like forms add lightness and transparency, breaking away from the heaviness often associated with waterfront architecture and offering a dynamic, three-dimensional expression.
Spatial design: Where city meets river
In the spatial design, staggered gaps between the towers create green “ecological interfaces,” weaving planting into the riverfront landscape and blurring the line between city and nature.
The podium, with its layered, horizontal forms inspired by boats, captures the waterfront’s energy and translates it into architectural detail.
Grouped as “hulls” and “sails,” the four towers redefine the skyline — distinctive yet harmonious. With modern materials and precise proportions, the design honors the Yangtze’s history while looking forward, setting a new benchmark for the next phase of riverside development.
Façade design: Sails in the sunlight
In the façade details, staggered and angled glass units reinterpret the sparkling reflections of the river’s surface. Light champagne-gold aluminum panels paired with glass curtain walls establish a refined, modern tone while softening any sense of cold industrialization.
Ecological green spines thread through the scheme, forming a continuous “architecture – green space – river view” loop.
The imagery of “sails” and “voyage” reflects Wuhan’s pioneering spirit, creating riverside residences that unite scenic beauty with a sense of spiritual resonance.
From blueprint to reality
This event also marked the Wuhan stop of CITIC Pacific Real Estate’s Path of Products series. With the opening of the show area, the “racing sails” design philosophy of Plots 29 and 30 has taken a major step from blueprint to reality.
Benoy is proud to once again partner with CITIC Pacific Real Estate in shaping this project into a high-end benchmark for the Erqi Riverside Business District, and looks forward to contributing design-driven regional development to more cities across China in the future.
