Building facades have gone an astonishing transformation over the past couple of years. Architects, engineers and building owners are now much more attuned to the latest technologies that bring form, function and ROI into one perfect blend. In this special issue, marvel at the most fascinating building facades today – from Zurich to Singapore to Sydney - and find out how high-performance building envelopes have evolved.

1. FASCINATING
THE WORLD‘S MOST FASCINATING BUILDING FACADES TODAY
FAÇADES

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Editor’s Note:
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Building facades have gone an astonishing
transformation over the past couple of years.
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Architects, engineers and building owners are now
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much more attuned to the latest technologies that
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bring form, function and ROI into one perfect blend.
In fact, Mark Pniewski , an expert facades engineer at
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Ramboll noted that “aesthetics has been shown to
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provide significant return on investment by virtue of
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international recognition, as demonstrated by the
Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Sydney Opera House or
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the “Gherkin” in London. By no means complete, but
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nevertheless fascinating, here are some of the world’s
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most fascinating building facades today.
CADESFASCINATINGFACADESFASCIN Darwin Jayson Mariano
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IQPC Worldwide
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1 Bligh
Sydney, Australia
The building is the first high-rise tower to receive the highest six star certificate of the Australian Green
Star environmental rating system. Its fully glazed tower is equipped with a double-skin façade and
ventilated by an atrium that rises the building’s entire height. (Photos courtesy of Ingenhoven Architects)
Martin Reuter, Managing Director, Ingenhoven Architects is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia
2013 conference in Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

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European Investment Bank
Luxembourg
A glass roof soars over the V-shaped office wings that are connected with atria and winter gardens. The
layout of the building relates to its context on all sides and fits naturally into the landscape. The slope of
the site is expressed inside the building with cafeterias and conference rooms arranged on internal
terraces. These atria connect the public areas at the ground level to the office levels above.
(Photos courtesy of Ingenhoven Architects)
Martin Reuter, Managing Director, Ingenhoven Architects is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia
2013 conference in Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

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China Huarong Tower
Zhuhai, PRC
The towers are orientated to provide hotel guests and office users with stunning views of significant landmarks in
Macau, while respecting the development potential and view corridors of adjacent sites. The building orientation
also protects its main entrances from wind, while the façade consisted of louvers in wavy forms which shade
unwanted glare and accentuate the concept of a rippling water surface. (Photos courtesy of ATKINS)
Stefan Abidin, Senior Associate Director, ATKINS is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia 2013
conference in Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.
*excerpts from Atkins website

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South Beach Development
Singapore
Designed to exemplify Singapore’s ideal of a ‘city in a garden’, South Beach’s central feature is
a ribbon-like and lightweight canopy that is inspired by the natural form and function of a tree.
The 280m-long canopy floats across the entire development to filter sunlight, solar glare and
channel wind breezes into the public spaces. (Photos courtesy of ARUP)
Russell Cole, Principal & Building Group Leader, ARUP is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia 2013
conference in Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

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Daniel Swarovski Corporation
Zurich, Switzerland
This transparent office building for 500 employees of the Swarovski Corporation is situated on the
eastern side of Lake Zurich, 19 kilometres south of the city of Zurich, in the village of Männedorf. The
main focus of the design is the lake view, through the transparency of the façade as well as the
arrangement of the work places. (Photos courtesy of Ingenhoven Architects)
Martin Reuter, Managing Director, Ingenhoven Architects is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia
2013 conference in Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

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Shenzen Stock Exchange
Shenzen, China
For millennia, the solid building stands on a solid base; it is an image that has survived modernity. Typically, the
base anchors a structure and connects it emphatically to the ground. In the case of Shenzhen's almost virtual
stock market, the role of symbolism exceeds that of the program - it is a building that has to represent the stock
market, more than physically accommodate it. (Photos courtesy of OMA)
Michael Kokora, Associate, OMA is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia 2013 conference in
Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

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Wisma Atria
Singapore
The designers have integrated a blue grid paneling to clad the building’s upper levels and
perform as a unifying backdrop to the façade. This material supplements the coloured
structural grid as a reference to the original building’s signature blue-tile cladding, establishing
the new frontage as an architectural continuum. (Photos courtesy of DP ARCHITECTS)
Angelene Chan, Director, DP ARCHITECTS is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia 2013 conference
in Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

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The Presidential Library
Astana, Kazakhstan
The envelope structure flows from a nine-storey 'tower' to four-storey horizontality, leaning at 45 degrees
along the way. It is supported by the ground at just four points, with the main load taken by the central
building, which acts as a torsion ring, suspending and cantilevering the rest. The facade acts as a thermal
buffer for the mechanically ventilated interior, and a high degree of latent heat recovery is incorporated into
the services design to minimise humidification loads. (Photos courtesy of Ramboll)
Stephen Melville, Design Director, RAMBOLL is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia 2013
conference in Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

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Singapore National Stadium
Singapore
Versatility is a key component of the stadium design. By integrating moving tiers, palletised turf modules and a fully
closing roof, the stadium can accommodate a wide calendar of sporting events like football, athletics and cricket as well
as other events such as the National Day Parade. (Photos courtesy of Arup)
Clive Lewis, Associate, ARUP is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia 2013 conference in Singapore. |
To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

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HDI-Gerling Headquarters
Hanover, Germany
The heart of the building is a central atrium, 40x40 metres in size, which contains the main entrance, the restaurant
and events rooms. Glass elevators link the floors in each of the three U-shaped office wings. The building has a green
roof. The sustainable-building concept is based on the DGNB gold-certificate standard and combines minimal energy
and resource usage with high comfort. (Photos courtesy of Ingenhoven Architects)
Martin Reuter, Managing Director, Ingenhoven Architects is presenting at the Building Envelopes Asia
2013 conference in Singapore. | To attend, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388.

13. Learn more about these
fascinating facades and
other world-class building
envelopes at the…
16 - 17 April, 2013 | Amara Hotel, Singapore
COST EFFICIENT DESIGN, ENGINEERING AND MATERIAL TECHNOLOGIES
FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING ENVELOPES
To attend the conference, email enquiry@iqpc.com.sg or call +65 6722 9388
www.buildingenvelopesasia.com

14. DISCLAIMER
Please note that we do all we can to ensure accuracy and timeliness of the information
presented herein but errors may still understandably occur in some cases. If you believe that
a serious inaccuracy has been made within the text, please email
darwin.mariano@iqpc.com.sg. This content is provided for information purposes only. IQPC
accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any direct or indirect losses arising from the use of
this report or its contents.
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