Pleats may be out when it comes to pants, but Bjarke Ingels Group seems to think they look pretty good on skyscrapers.
The design firm’s new 96,000-sm office development for the Shenzhen Energy Company in Shenzhen, China uses an undulating building envelope that creates a rippled skin around the development’s two connected buildings. Folding parts of the envelope reduces solar loads and flare and creates a façade with closed and open parts that oscillate between transparency and opacity.
Photo: Chao Zhang.
The façade’s shape corresponds to the solar orientation, maximizing north-facing openings for natural light and views and minimizing exposure on the sunny sides. The façade is stretched out within the protruded areas of the buildings and two smooth deformations create large spaces for meeting rooms, executive clubs, and staff facilities. The façade system manages to reduce overall energy consumption of the building without any moving parts or complex technology.
See Also: WeWork names BIG’s Ingels as its Chief Architect
The development consists of two towers, a north tower that rises 220 meters and a south tower that rises 120 meters, that are linked together via a 34 meter podium. The podium contains main lobbies, a conference center, a cafeteria, and exhibition space.
Photo: Chao Zhang.
Visitors will enter from the north and south ends of the buildings while employees will enter from the front plaza into the naturally-lit plaza. The Shenzhen Energy Company offices will occupy the highest floors with the rest left available as rentable office space.
ARUP and Transsolar collaborated with BIG on the project, which started construction in 2012.
Photo: Chao Zhang.
Photo: Chao Zhang.
Related Stories
High-rise Construction | Jul 9, 2013
5 innovations in high-rise building design
KONE's carbon-fiber hoisting technology and the Broad Group's prefab construction process are among the breakthroughs named 2013 Innovation Award winners by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jul 1, 2013
LEGOLAND builds 12-foot replica of One World Trade Center
The LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester in Yonkers, N.Y., celebrated the completion of a LEGO replica of One World Trade Center by lighting the 12-foot-tall, 100-pound model.
| Jun 25, 2013
Mirvish, Gehry revise plans for triad of Toronto towers
A trio of mixed-use towers planned for an urban redevelopment project in Toronto has been redesigned by planners David Mirvish and Frank Gehry. The plan was announced last October but has recently been substantially revised.
| Jun 25, 2013
First look: Herzog & de Meuron's Jade Signature condo tower in Florida
Real estate developer Fortune International has released details of its new Jade Signature property, to be developed in Sunny Isles Beach near Miami. The luxury waterfront condo building will include 192 units in a 57-story building near high-end retail destinations and cultural venues.
| Jun 17, 2013
First look: Austin to get first high-rise since 2003
Developer Cousins Properties broke ground on the 29-story Colorado Tower in downtown Austin, Texas, the city's first high-rise building since Cousins' completed the Frost Bank Tower a decade ago.
| Jun 11, 2013
Vertical urban campus fills a tall order [2013 Building Team Award winner]
Roosevelt University builds a 32-story tower to satisfy students’ needs for housing, instruction, and recreation.
| Jun 11, 2013
Finnish elevator technology could facilitate supertall building design
KONE Corporation has announced a new elevator technology that could make it possible for supertall buildings to reach new heights by eliminating several problems of existing elevator technology. The firm's new UltraRope hoisting system uses a rope with a carbon-fiber core and high-friction coating, rather than conventional steel rope.
| Jun 4, 2013
SOM research project examines viability of timber-framed skyscraper
In a report released today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill discussed the results of the Timber Tower Research Project: an examination of whether a viable 400-ft, 42-story building could be created with timber framing. The structural type could reduce the carbon footprint of tall buildings by up to 75%.
| May 23, 2013
Supertall 'Sky City' will house 4,400 families in Changsha, China
Broad Sustainable Building has completed a long and arduous approval process, and is starting excavation and construction on Sky City in June, 2013. The proposed "world's tallest building" will be a mixed-use project that could accommodate life and work needs of up to 30,000 people.
| May 7, 2013
First look: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill skyscraper designed to 'confuse the wind'
The 400-meter-high, 116-story Imperial Tower in Mumbai will feature a slender, rounded form optimized to withstand the area's strong wind currents.
