Ground will be broken on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 for Skidmore Owing & Merrill LLP (SOM)’s newest building at Beijing’s China World Trade Center (CWTC) complex. The 58-story Phase 3B Tower features sleek horizontal bands of canted glass that wrap the building’s square floor plates. The 918-feet (280-meters) tall icon will be located immediately northeast of the 74-story, SOM-designed China World Trade Center Tower 3, completed in 2010—which is the tallest building in the Chinese capital. More images and complete press release after the break.
“The form is evocative,” SOM Design Partner Brian Lee says. “It could be a bamboo shoot or a pagoda, but it’s driven by practical issues.” The exterior curtain wall is 3 degrees off vertical to make the façade self-cleaning in Beijing’s dirty air. The cant decreases glare to occupants and the reflection of light results in an 8 percent reduction in energy loads.
