China Mobile Ltd. selected international architecture, planning, engineering, interior design and program management firm LEO A DALY to design three buildings at its new international headquarters campus in Beijing.
In partnership with Local Design Institute WDCE, LEO A DALY won a competition to design Phase 2, Plot B, of the campus. The new international headquarters, which will be built in several phases in an area of 1.3 million square meters, consists of a campus of 26 specialized buildings to accommodate a variety of functions, including information collection, research and innovation, information services, international cooperation and exchange and display functions.
Phase 2, Plot B, of the campus, which totals 148,000 square meters near a green park space, consists of two research and development office and laboratory buildings, and a public facility building. As lead designer, LEO A DALY is providing the exterior design for the three buildings, interior design for the buildings’ major public spaces and landscape architecture while WDCE is providing interior design services for the rest of the spaces as well as all engineering work.
LEO A DALY’s design for the research and development office and laboratory buildings, each a five- and nine-story facility, are organized on an east-west pedestrian axis and mirrored in their massing to establish opposite, formal entries linked to internal courtyards at the ground level.
Each sculpted block features facades that convey the dynamic activity within by way of large, diagonal windows. The windows reveal perimeter stairs, which act as impromptu gathering steps with excellent views to the landscape. Central to LEO A DALY’s design concept is taking conventional, internal stairways typically found in research buildings’ central core zones and placing them on the perimeter in which employee brain storming activities may freely flow. This design approach of providing informal interacting zones is currently adopted by leading global research and technology firms whose goal is to support new work lifestyles preferred by younger generations.
The buildings feature fenestration that shades the external glass skin with copper-colored brise-soleil, graduated in color from dark at the bottom to light at the top, to visually ease the building’s mass and suggest an organic quality which links the building to the site. The two buildings are being designed with emphasis on reducing ecological and energy consumption impact. The buildings’ roofs provide sustainable landscape areas and are planted with grasses, annual and perennial materials and include some man-made materials (such as colorful rubber-based walking surfaces). The landscape for both perimeters and courtyards feature sculptural earth forms, fountains, pools, terraces and gardens.
A third, public facilities building is placed adjacent to the research and laboratory buildings in the campus’s central park and signature waterway. Within this building, recreation, food and beverage, light retail and central campus meeting facilities provide a multilevel, public place for both employees and China Mobile visitors. Its architecture is differentiated from the adjacent buildings by the portrayal of careful massing and purposeful sculpting of form, reinforced by diagonal fins which artfully echo the treatment of its neighbors. The cladding, materials and roofing of the facility incorporate a number of sustainable features, and are designed to meet Three Star Green Building standards (equivalent to LEED Platinum criteria), the highest rating for sustainable buildings in China. BD+C
Related Stories
| Feb 20, 2014
5 myths about cross laminated timber
A CLT expert clears up several common misconceptions and myths surrounding the use of wood as a building material.
Sponsored | | Feb 20, 2014
Chicago’s historic Wrigley Building renovated to attract tech companies
Purchased in 2011 by a consortium of investors led by BDT Capital Partners, the building’s new owners have recently renovated and reimagined the next life for this architectural landmark—as a hub for tech firms.
| Feb 20, 2014
World's longest desk? Massive, undulating desk accommodates 145 office workers [video]
The desk is built from plywood and one continuous sheet of resin, and can serve all 145 office employees at once.
| Feb 19, 2014
It's a world record! Largest uninterrupted concrete pour kicks off Wilshire Grand project
Guinness World Records verifies the concrete pour as the largest ever
| Feb 19, 2014
Why you should start with a builder, part two
When it’s time to build or expand, the first step is finding a builder that fits your needs. Once you have found a builder, checked their references, visited with their previous clients and are ready to move forward, the next step is answering an initial set of questions that will direct your project.
| Feb 19, 2014
Slight rebound for Architecture Billings Index
After consecutive months of contracting demand for design services, AIA's Architecture Billings Index inched up nearly two points to 50.4 in January, indicating favorable business conditions.
| Feb 19, 2014
Sefaira Adds Daylighting Analysis to Performance Based Design Platform
Sefaira, the leader in software for high performance building design, today announced that its performance based design platform now includes daylighting analysis. With the addition of daylighting, Sefaira combines two critical design metrics in the same tool.
| Feb 19, 2014
Harvard's 'termite robots' can build any thing, any way [video]
The robots build by observing thier environment and then obeying a set of traffic rules programmed by researchers.
| Feb 18, 2014
Illinois leads Top 10 states for LEED in annual USGBC ranking
The U.S. Green Building Council has released its ranking of the Top 10 States for LEED, the world’s most widely used and recognized green building rating system.
| Feb 18, 2014
Study: 90% of healthcare providers say Affordable Care Act is 'step forward,' but major revisions needed
Providers are excited about opportunities to address long-term health issues in the U.S., but worries about the transition persist, according to a new study by Mortenson Construction.