Büro Ole Scheeren has unveiled the design for JD Beacon, a new regional headquarters and research and development center for JD.com in Nanjing. Rising 200 meters in the heart of the Jianye High-tech Zone, the project anchors a growing cluster of major technology companies within the Hexi Central Science and Technology Innovation district. With neighbors such as Alibaba and Xiaomi, the tower is poised to become a defining landmark in Nanjing’s rapidly growing digital economy.
The 274,000-square-meter development brings together JD.com’s regional headquarters with advanced R&D facilities. JD.com, China’s largest retailer by revenue and one of the world’s biggest companies, ranked 44th in the 2025 Fortune Global 500 and will use the site as a base for innovation in fields such as artificial intelligence and robotics.
JD Beacon’s Interlocking Tower and Plaza Design
Ole Scheeren’s design stands as a tower shaped by transparent, interlocking volumes that create a three-dimensional presence in the city. Recessed open terraces cut into the tower, forming outdoor extensions of work and meeting spaces. These voids frame views across Nanjing, allow natural light to reach deep into the building, and act as visible pockets of activity that show the building’s research culture at work.
Low-rise volumes wrap the base of the tower, grounding the complex in the surrounding streetscape and creating a clear edge along the site. Arranged around a central plaza, the buildings form a compact ensemble that bridges the project with the neighborhood.
At the heart of the site, an open entrance court guides circulation through broad pathways, reflective water features, and pockets of greenery. These outdoor spaces weave the development into the daily flow of the Jianye High-tech Zone, shaping JD Beacon as a site where movement, work, and research naturally meet.
Büro Ole Scheeren secured the commission through an international competition. Construction began in November 2025, marking a new chapter for JD.com as well as an important step in Nanjing’s ongoing push to build a leading national hub for technological innovation.
