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.
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Oct 29, 2024
Editorial call for Office Building project case studies
BD+C editors are looking to feature a roundup of office building projects for 2024, including office-to-residential conversions. Deadline for submission: December 6, 2024.
Office Buildings | Oct 21, 2024
3 surprises impacting the return to the office
This blog series exploring Gensler's Workplace Survey shows the top three surprises uncovered in the return to the office.
Sustainable Design and Construction | Oct 10, 2024
Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure
Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.
MFPRO+ News | Oct 9, 2024
San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions
The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown.
The Changing Built Environment | Sep 23, 2024
Half-century real estate data shows top cities for multifamily housing, self-storage, and more
Research platform StorageCafe has conducted an analysis of U.S. real estate activity from 1980 to 2023, focusing on six major sectors: single-family, multifamily, industrial, office, retail, and self-storage.
Government Buildings | Sep 17, 2024
OSHA’s proposed heat standard published in Federal Register
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed standard addressing heat illness in outdoor and indoor settings in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would require employers to evaluate workplaces and implement controls to mitigate exposure to heat through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.
Mass Timber | Sep 17, 2024
Marina del Rey mixed-use development is L.A.’s largest mass timber project
An office-retail project in Marina del Rey is Los Angeles’ largest mass timber project to date. Encompassing about 3 acres, the 42XX campus consists of three low-rise buildings that seamlessly connect with exterior walkways and stairways. The development provides 151,000 sf of office space and 1,500 sf of retail space.
Office Buildings | Sep 16, 2024
Maximizing office square footage through ‘agile planning’
Lauren Elliott, RID, NCIDQ, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares tips for a designing with a popular and flexible workspace model: Agile planning.
Adaptive Reuse | Sep 12, 2024
White paper on office-to-residential conversions released by IAPMO
IAPMO has published a new white paper titled “Adaptive Reuse: Converting Offices to Multi-Residential Family,” a comprehensive analysis of addressing housing shortages through the conversion of office spaces into residential units.
Office Buildings | Sep 6, 2024
Fact sheet outlines benefits, challenges of thermal energy storage for commercial buildings
A U.S. Dept. of Energy document discusses the benefits and challenges of thermal energy storage for commercial buildings. The document explains how the various types of thermal energy storage technologies work, where their installation is most beneficial, and some practical considerations around installations.
