Kris Yao | Artech - China Development Headquarters, offices surrounded by old banyan trees
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China Development Headquarters, offices surrounded by old banyan trees

Kris Yao | Artech

Mixed Use  /  Completed
Kris Yao | Artech

China Development Headquarters is located on the green urban axis, Dunhua North Road in Taipei City, close to the Taipei Arena and the Taipei Municipal Stadium. The site is benefited by busy commercial activities and entertainment business, with easy transportation access. The main building is retreated 50 meters from the Boulevard, in order to reserve a large green open space for the public in the busy urban center. The pedestrian walkway with double tree lines connects nearby commercial streets, Taipei Cultural Center, and Taipei Municipal Stadium, to form a continuous green belt. It promotes the interaction of the commercial business and communities, creating a friendly, open and comfortable public environment. The tower is a double-skin glass curtain wall building of 18 floors, with 5 underground levels. The symmetrical building is configured at a diagonal angle of 8 degrees to the site to embrace the open plaza. The main entrance is facing Dunhua North Road to the west, and a separate entrance for the hotel is arranged on the north side. The general and financial offices are planned on the 2nd-13th floor, and the 18th floor. The hotel on the 14th-17th floor with roof garden has excellent view of the city skyline and the green trees of Dunhua North Road. The façade is designed to showcase a simple and modern architectural form while achieving sustainable energy efficiency. It is made of ultra-white double-layered glass curtain walls, in combination with aluminum panels and gneiss stone, with horizontal and vertical stepped retreats to create a shimmering crystal that combines transparency and immateriality. Its lightness is further enhanced by feathering the skyline with single panes of glass that project up to screen rooftop services. The clear glass curtain walls reflect the white clouds and green trees, allowing the building to quietly blend into the landscape. The design of the open plaza integrates the old banyan tree preserved in situ with landscape elements such as seating and grass slopes. The dense branches provide shade from the sun and rain, making it an oasis in the city. Supplemented by the water pools, plantation, landscape pavement and lightings, the open and flowing plaza becomes a comfortable strolling space. When it gets dark, the transparent glass cube on the south side lights up to add the flavor to the city’s night life. The design intends to fulfill the sustainable requirement. It reshapes the surrounding urban landscape through friendly open plaza and modern architectural appearance, and has been awarded the EEWH Gold Certification. At the early stage of the building planning, the protection plan of the existing old trees on the site was taken into consideration by adjusting the building layout and basement excavation to avoid the growth radius of the tree, and by integrating the landscape design to make the old trees the important spatial elements. The façade is designed to showcase a clean architectural form and to meet the green building requirements. The double-layered glass curtain wall facing west and east is made of uncoated glass on the outer layer to present a transparent architectural appearance, but Low-E glass is used on the inner layer to effectively insulate the building from heat, and to prevent radiant heat through the cavity between the double-layered glass. The electric louvers between the inner and outer glass layers can be automatically adjusted by the sensor of the sun tracking system to mitigate heat and glare from late afternoon sun. Furthermore, the inductive lighting control system greatly increases the comfort of the indoor environment and reduces the use of HVAC system. Other green designs include stormwater pools, rainwater recycling, rainwater and sewage diversion systems, etc., which is expected to reduce the building impact on the environment and to create a new urban landmark that is in harmony with the environment and nature.

Credits

 Taipei
 Taiwan
 China Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
 10/2021
 81495 mq
 Kris Yao
 Design: Glen Lu, Nai-Wen Cheng, Eric Lee, Tin Huang, Lei Yeh, Shwo-Huey Yeh, Hua-Yi Chang, Chung-Hsien Chiang, Yi-Lin Chou, Houng-Yang Teng, Jia-Hui Yu, Vicky Wang, Alex Lin, Monica Liang; Construction Inspection: Jun-Ren Chou, Alex Liu
 Chung-Lu Construction Co., Ltd.
 Structure: Federal Engineering Consultants, Ltd., Chuang Wei Structural Engineering Inc.; Plumbing, Electrical & Fire Protection: Heng Kai Engineering Consultants, Inc.; HVAC: I. S. LIN & Associates Consulting Engineers; Landscape: The SWA Group; Façade: Curtain Wall Design and Consulting Inc. Taiwan Office; Lighting: Chroma33 Architectural Lighting Design

Curriculum

KRIS YAO | ARTECH is established in 1985, and is an Asia-based architectural firm with offices in Taipei and Shanghai. Kris Yao (Hon. FAIA) is the founding architect. The firm is hailed as one of the best professional practices in Asia as well as an internationally renowned firm. The firm’s portfolio demonstrates years of practice in various architecture types, including offices, commercial, hospitality, cultural, educational, transportation, performing arts centers, residential, spiritual spaces, etc. The team’s design philosophy strives to achieve excellence in design, finding ways to employ innovative yet appropriate technologies to create poetic architectural spaces that integrate the cultural context, and the sense of scale and place.

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