Dutch architects MVRDV have won an international competition to build Vanke 3D City, a mixed-use development with a number of what the design practice have termed "three dimensional" public areas.

The 250-metre tower, which will overlook Shenzhen Bay in China, will take the form of eight porous but interlinked blocks.

The complex will also feature landscaped gardens, atriums, hotels, apartments, and offices, some of which will be built in open-air, hollowed-out spaces.

In addition to these private, public, and semi-public areas, Vanke City – said to be partially the result of MVRDV's investigations into the concept of vertical cityscapes in 2009 – will also have a multi-level, 'sunken' square which will connect guests to a handful of restaurants and commercial businesses.

Commenting on the project’s unique appearance, Winy Maas, principal and co-founder of MVRDV, called it "a new type of skyscraper".

He explained: "By opening the buildings, a series of giant collective halls are created with a view over the bay and to the world. The plazas, gardens, and halls are connected by a series of stairs and elevators, linking the many blocks into a continuous urban fabric high off the ground – a true three-dimensional city."

In its description of the scheme, Arup, which is serving as the project’s sustainability consultant, emphasised its wellness aspects, saying the development’s on-site community playground and sustainable technology showroom would respectively function as "leisure facilities and a platform to educate on sustainable living".

Construction on the building, which – when complete – will serve as the headquarters for Chinese real estate company, Vanke, is scheduled to begin in 2019.