OMA Unveils Plans for Essence Financial Building with High Performance Facade in Shenzhen

The rapidly-growing Chinese city of Shenzhen will soon be home to yet another tower, with the latest addition to the skyline being designed by <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/OMA" target="_blank">OMA</a>. The <a href="http://www.oma.com/news/2013/oma-to-build-essence-financial-building-in-shenzhen" target="_blank">Essence Financial Building</a> is part of the next generation of skyscrapers with a design that focuses on long term flexibility and sustainability. Rather than a conventional floor plate centered around a core, the core is shifted to the edge and an unobstructed floor plan allows for a variety of configurations and can be adapted as needed over time. The high-performance exterior is not just a slab of glass; instead, each facade is configured in response to the solar gain, the climate and the urban context.

The <a href="http://www.oma.com/news/2013/oma-to-build-essence-financial-building-in-shenzhen" target="_blank">Essence Financial Building</a> will be located in the Financial Developement Area of Shenzhen with views overlooking the nearby Shenzen Golf Club.

The 180 meter tower a ground floor podium with commercial and retail services, office space, a mid-tower outdoor plaza and recreation space as well as a clubhouse at the top.

The project is led by OMA Partners David Gianotten and Rem Koolhaas, with the help of collaborating firms SADI (local architect), YRG (sustainability), SWA (landscaping), Inhabit (facade) and AECOM (engineering).

OMA's design for the Essence Financial Building is set to begin the next generation of eco office towers, which will provide for the changes in how we now do business in this globally connected world.

Eliminating the dark central core of the tower opens the floor plate up for a variety of offices and applications and will ensure the building remains practical and useable in the future.

Views and daylighting are now just as important as utilities inside.

A mid-height viewing platform opens the building up to the outdoors and provides viewing space and recreational opportunities for staff in the building.

The most important aspect of the building is the high performance facade, which features a unique design for each side.

A homogeneous glass curtain wall is energy inefficient, so to be more sustainable requires an optimized solution with regards to solar gain.

The east and west facades are less penetrable to shield from the sun.

The south facade features a graduated pattern with openings increasing further down as solar penetration decreases and the north facade is open to take in views and indirect light.

Floor plate alterations for a more modern and interconnected office.

Solar gain facade diagrams.