'Skidmore, Owings & Merrill' is an American architecture, engineering and design firm that's behind a 55-storey building in Beijing that features a series of light-reflecting windows. Positioned at alternating angles, the windows allow natural light to bounce off its surfaces at different points, giving it a patterned effect. The impressive tower, called the Beijing Greenland Center, offers both office spaces and apartment complexes.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill included the prismatic windows around the entirety of the building, offering an endless supply of natural lighting to the building's inhabitants and making the structure eye-catching from any angle. The building was also designed to be environmentally sustainable, with inclusions such as a "heat reclaim wheel, variable speed pumps for heating and cooling, and a water-side economizer to utilize evaporative cooling."
What's Driving This Trend
- Prismatic Window Design
- Opportunity for architects and designers to explore light-reflecting window designs for buildings, enhancing the use of natural lighting for energy-efficient structures.
- Environmentally Sustainable Buildings
- Opportunity for construction companies to incorporate green technology and designs to improve energy efficiency and reduce a building's carbon footprint.
- Mixed-use Properties
- Opportunity for real estate developers to create mixed-use buildings that offer both office spaces and residential complexes, catering to a broader range of real estate needs.
Who This Affects Most
- Architecture
- With the advent of prismatic window design, architects can explore new ways to design buildings that draw upon multiple streams of natural lighting for workspaces and residential structures.
- Construction
- The call for environmentally-friendly buildings provides a disruption opportunity to construction companies to offer energy-efficient solutions that adhere to green standards.
- Real Estate
- The mixed-use property development will emphasize the rising need for flexible spaces for work and living as part of a wider plan to change the urban landscape for the better.
