In Guangzhou, China, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has designed the recently completed Star River Headquarters to minimize embodied carbon, reduce energy consumption, and create a healthy work environment. The 48-story tower is located in the business district on Guangzhou’s Pazhou Island.
The tower’s pleated façade ascends in a parabolic taper, which reduces wind loads while creating vertical planes of light and shadow. This design provides shading to reduce direct sunlight while at the same time allowing diffuse daylight to enter the interior spaces. In addition, the envelope’s high-performance curtain wall systems and thermal insulation reduce cooling loads and improve indoor comfort.
Building design features rounded corners, open floor plates
Individual bays formed by the pleats can accommodate both open and closed offices on the building’s perimeter. The building’s rounded corners are free of columns, creating open floor plates with views of the Pearl River.
Mullions that run the entire building height of 259.5 meters (851 feet) integrate operable panels, so occupants have direct access to fresh air. The building’s crown features a latticed structure containing a greenhouse with heritage plants and a pavilion with a reflecting pool.
The building is located on a public plaza with native landscaping and paved areas around the glass-enclosed lobby. The building’s canopy wraps around the base and extends above a retail building, forming a covered pedestrian arcade. This design also conceals the mechanical spaces on the block’s edge. Visitors can access the retail offerings and subway connection below grade.
The building management system includes environmental control standards, plant monitoring, and a user interface that allows for efficient operations.
On the Building Team:
Owner/developer: Guangzhou Star River Commercial Investment And Development Co, Ltd.
Design architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Architect of record: Guangzhou Design Institution
MEP engineer and structural engineer: SOM
General contractor: Zhongtian Construction Group Co., Ltd.
Interior design: ChengChung + Design
Lighting design: Leox Design Partnership|
Façade consultant: Shanghai PFT Construction Consulting Co.
![Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-1_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-2_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-3_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-7_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-8-fix_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-12_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-13_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-14_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-15_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-16_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-17_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-18_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-20_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-22_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-23_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-25_large.jpg)
![Star River Headquarters, designed by SOM. Photo by Seth Powers, courtesy SOM](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Pazhou%20Star%20River-final-tiff-27_large.jpg)
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Feb 23, 2022
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building tops out
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building, topped out on Feb. 10, 2022.
Resiliency | Feb 15, 2022
Design strategies for resilient buildings
LEO A DALY's National Director of Engineering Kim Cowman takes a building-level look at resilient design.
Office Buildings | Feb 1, 2022
Mennica Legacy Tower: GP's latest office complex in Warsaw is uniquely designed
Mennica Legacy Tower marks GP’s first completed project in Poland. The Mennica Legacy Tower was developed by an affiliate of Golub & Company LLC and Mennica Towers GGH MT Sp z o o S.K.A, and delivered in collaboration with Epstein, a design firm with offices in Chicago and Warsaw.
Laboratories | Jan 28, 2022
3 must-know strategies for developers in today’s life sciences industry
While the life sciences industry had been steadily growing, this growth exploded when the pandemic arrived—and there is no indication that this lightning-fast pace will slow down any time soon.
Office Buildings | Jan 26, 2022
BlackRock’s Innovation Hub in Atlanta showcases its global design guidelines
The two-story space harkens to the city’s culture and past.
Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022
Advances and challenges in improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings
Michael Dreidger, CEO of IAQ tech startup Airsset speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about how building owners and property managers can improve their buildings' air quality.
3D Printing | Jan 12, 2022
Using 3D-printed molds to create unitized window forms
COOKFOX designer Pam Campbell and Gate Precast's Mo Wright discuss the use of 3D-printed molds from Oak Ridge National Lab to create unitized window panels for One South First, a residential-commercial high-rise in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Headquarters | Oct 28, 2021
Florida’s Seagate Development Group tackles design-build projects from a developer’s vantage
A “single point of contact” for clients, says its CEO.
Office Buildings | Oct 26, 2021
A massive office reno project in Detroit sought to create destination spaces for returning workers
The interior design firm Pophouse relied heavily on employee input for a pilot remodel.
Cladding and Facade Systems | Oct 26, 2021
14 projects recognized by DOE for high-performance building envelope design
The inaugural class of DOE’s Better Buildings Building Envelope Campaign includes a medical office building that uses hybrid vacuum-insulated glass and a net-zero concrete-and-timber community center.