“We’ve conceived Huamu Lot 10 as an integrated place of culture and commerce,” says KPF Design Principal Jeffrey A. Kenoff. “The project seeks to flip the equation of a tower, which typically includes an iconic top, and instead uses the gallery program as a cantilevered volume near the mid-point of the tower. The result is a moment that engages the pedestrian realm while simultaneously sculpting the project’s identity within the Shanghai skyline.”

The design of the curtain wall employs many prominent elements to enhance sustainability. The horizontal band overhang reduces direct solar gain into space. The ample natural daylighting reduces electricity consumption for lighting. The fins pro- vide shading and protect against the glare of the sunlight. Operable windows provide fresh air and occupant comfort. The glass delivers high performance by adopting sophisticated double silver low-E coating, its glazing insulated with argon. Low reflectivity glass has also been integrated into the facade to avoid unwanted reflections on surrounding residential buildings. And finally, insulation and thermal breaks with thermal energy modeling serve to improve the performance in order to meet China 3 star standards.

The tower’s geometrical shifting serves to distinguish it from the surroundings. Prominently integrated into the design is the horizontal expression of the facade. On one hand, the horizontal rhythm follows the horizontal shifting language of the project. On the other hand, it generates maximized daylight in the office space, providing it with vast views of the evolving skylines in Pudong, while complying with light pollution requirements (GWR), avoiding excessive glass that would reflect onto adjacent residential buildings, embodying a harmonious and sophisticated presence in its environment.

Efficiency is the centerpiece of the technical design. While many office towers utilize 1.2m or 1.5m wide curtain wall panels, KPF looks beyond the convention. This project employs a wider 1.8m panel, divided into 0.6m and 1.2m modules, which allows for an operable window into the smaller side and simultaneously a panoramic view that is achieved by a single, efficient, and unitized glass panel. As a result, a panoramic view is enabled by a façade with fewer panels, fewer joints, and a faster construction sequence

We used parametric software tools to perform an analysis of views to the exterior at various angles. It allowed us to adjust the mullion pattern and alignment relative to the columns, to ensure access to clear views for the office interior.

The retail podium facade is built in a multidimensional structure, where the impressionable cantilever creates a landmark that defines the openness of the view, while the ground-level module serves the scale of the pedestrian realm, capturing the active street life of the district. The unique architectural language embedded in the complex both signifies a very diverse spatial quality, also resonates with the continuity with the surroundings.

The lighting scheme enhances the main concept of the project by emphasizing the horizontal shifting of the sky gallery volumes. This is achieved by lighting at the exterior soffit as well as a full luminous film ceiling at the interior. Since this lighting effect was so important to the overall nighttime appearance of the buildings, a full-scale mockup was built to ensure the full 9m soffits could be fully illuminated.

The perfect fit of lighting and volume is the unique highlight of this project. The uplight is smudged with white-colored glazed glass to lighten the tower crown softly. The light stand is located above people’s line of sight so that people can enjoy the panoramic view of the city without being disturbed by glare.

For special events, all kinds of unique lighting animations can appear on the full height of the buildings thanks to lights integrated across the entire tower facades that are programmable at a very fine scale. These special event lights are applied such that the fundamental rectangular volumes of the towers are visible while the cantilevered sky galleries are highlighted separately. LED strip luminaires are fully integrated into minor mullions at every curtain wall module and covered with a lens there is no impact on the daytime appearance of the facade.