Beautiful prismatic glass panels envelop SOM’s Beijing Greenland Center

The 55-story Beijing Greenland Center, clad in a striking glass facade, was recently completed in the city's Dawangjing district.

The mixed-use tower, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill , has an intricate patterned facade made of low-E glass panels that mimic the bas relief carving technique and help maintain stable indoor temperatures. The building is super efficient thanks to a heat-reclaim wheel, efficient evaporative cooling and its shade providing skin.

The 260-meter tower is enveloped in curtain walls made of glass panels arranged in a prism-like manner. The high-performance skin captures and refracts daylight, creating an interesting interplay of light and shadow. The isosceles trapezoidal modules taper down and up in an alternating pattern on all sides of the building.

The thermally efficient skin is only one among the building’s many sustainable features. Variable speed pumps were incorporated to optimize heating and cooling, while a water-side economizer helps utilize evaporative cooling.

“Addressing a need for environmentally responsible, mixed-use urban development, Beijing Greenland Center is a highly visible example of how visually striking design can also be highly flexible and sustainable,” said the architects.