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
| Oct 23, 2013
AIA: Crowd-funding shows promise for financing real estate projects
The American Institute of Architects issued a statement on the SEC's recent 5-0 vote to propose rules aimed at letting startups tap large numbers of ordinary investors for small amounts of capital.
| Oct 23, 2013
Gehry, Foster join Battersea Power Station redevelopment
Norman Foster and Frank Gehry have been selected to design a retail section within the £8 billion redevelopment of Battersea Power Station in London.
| Oct 23, 2013
Some lesser-known benefits of metal buildings
While the durability of metal as a construction material is widely recognized, some of its other advantages are less commonly acknowledged and appreciated.
| Oct 23, 2013
Architecture Billings Index hits seven-month high in September
AIA's Architecture Billings Index was 54.3 in September, the highest level since February 2013
| Oct 18, 2013
Meet the winners of BD+C's $5,000 Vision U40 Competition
Fifteen teams competed last week in the first annual Vision U40 Competition at BD+C's Under 40 Leadership Summit in San Francisco. Here are the five winning teams, including the $3,000 grand prize honorees.
| Oct 18, 2013
A picture’s worth a thousand words… if you can find it
Photographs are becoming more essential to project communication and documentation. Recently, I sat in a local airport integration project meeting in which the owner outlined their expectation for construction documentation. One of the first requirements was to provide photographs throughout the building process.
| Oct 18, 2013
Researchers discover tension-fusing properties of metal
When a group of MIT researchers recently discovered that stress can cause metal alloy to fuse rather than break apart, they assumed it must be a mistake. It wasn't. The surprising finding could lead to self-healing materials that repair early damage before it has a chance to spread.
| Oct 18, 2013
Call for submissions: AIA Emerging Professionals Summit essays
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is seeking essays that will address what role architects will play in society in 2033.
| Oct 16, 2013
5 secrets of successful entrepreneurs
If you’re on the outside looking in, successful entrepreneurship may seem mysterious. But it isn’t. Here are five patterns of behavior that are common to successful entrepreneurs.
| Oct 15, 2013
High-rise Art Deco courthouse gets a makeover in Amarillo, Texas
Recognized as one of the most significant Art Deco courthouses in Texas, the Potter County Courthouse is modernized and restored to its 1930s aesthetic.