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The New Beijing Poly Plaza
The New Beijing Poly Plaza
General information
Type	Office/mixed
Location	Chaoyangmen North Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, China
Coordinates	39°55′54″N 116°25′34″E / 39.9316°N 116.426°E
Construction started	2003
Completed	2007
Cost	US$180 million
Owner	China Poly Group Corporation
Height	110 m
Technical details
Floor count	24
Floor area	103.308 m2
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill; Mark Sarkisian, P.E. S.E., Partner; and Aaron Mazeika, P.E., Associate
Structural engineer	Skidmore, Owings and Merrill; for base building: Beijing Special Engineering Design and Research Institute; wind engineer: Shifu Gu, Mechanics & Engineering Science Department, Peking University
Main contractor	(cable nets) Yuanda China, Shenyang, China; Advanced Structures Inc., Culver City, California

The New Beijing Poly Plaza is a building complex in Beijing, China. Completed in 2007 for the China Poly Group Corporation, it houses the company headquarters, other office space, retail, restaurants, and the Poly Museum.

The New Beijing Poly Plaza sits northeast of the Forbidden City^[1] on the 2nd Ring Road, near the Beijing Subway entrance of Exit D of Dongsi Shitiao Station of Line 2.^[2] Its large atrium looks out onto a major highway intersection and across the road to the earlier China Poly Headquarters.

Architecture

For their new headquarters, China Poly Group wanted a design that would reflect their multiple corporate interests in a unified structure.

The structure has three main components: an L-shaped office building, a 21-story high glass-enclosed atrium, and a hanging structure referred to as the ‘lantern.’^[3]^[4]

The overall footprint on the 65,000-square-meter site is of a right triangle. Each leg of the L-shaped building measures 76.5 m long by 22.5 m wide. The hypotenuse of the triangle is formed by a glass cable-net wall faces northeast, and reduces the overall exterior surface area of the building, helping to moderate the interior climate. The south and west walls of the building deflect direct summer sun with a travertine fin-wall and brise soleil shades that don't obstruct views. The travertine façade is illuminated with fluorescent lights, emphasizing even at night the building's play of light and shadow. Iits surface is perforated with smaller atria inset into the office bars, allowing light into the interior and for views through the building.^[3] The building is framed in steel and concrete composite.^[4]

The glass cable-net wall construction is the world's largest, measuring 90 meters high by 60 meters wide, four times the size of the cable-net wall at the Time Warner Center in New York. The wall is counterweighted with an 8-story "lantern" structure hanging from four parallel strand cables. The largest of these cables is 275 mm diameter, consisting of 199 parallel strands of 15.2 mm diameter. Each strand is made up of seven wires twisted around a central wire. The glass wall is also rigged to these v-shaped cables, reducing the effective distance the wall cables must span. This unique design allows for such a large cable-net wall, and for the lantern. The lantern structure, essentially a building hanging from another building, has no support columns at the ground. It is attached to the cables with v-shaped rocker mechanisms that are designed to maintain tension in a seismic event, keeping the lantern fixed in place.^[2]

The Poly Museum

The lantern structure houses the Poly Museum, whose goal is to repatriate China's cultural antiquities and whose collection bronze antiquities is one of the foremost in the country. It is referred to as the lantern for its resemblance to a pleated Chinese lantern. The glass pleats increase reflection and refraction in the atrium and building exterior, while interior bronze walls contain the exhibition spaces of the museum. Public walkways between the glass and bronze walls bring the play of light and shadow to the interior of the hanging structure.^[4]

Awards

2011 – AIA San Francisco Chapter: Constructed Realities: Architectural Detail Honor Award^[5]
2011 – Architect Magazine: R + D Award^[6]
2010 – Beijing Modern: Top Ten Building Prize^[7]
2010 – China Tien-Yow Jeme: Civil Engineering Prize^[7]
2010 – Urban Land Institute: Award for Excellence: Finalist^[8]
2009 – Beijing Municipal Information Department: Beijing Top Ten Buildings Award^[7]
2008 – AIA Hong Kong: Merit Award^[9]
2008 – Chicago Athenaeum: American Architecture Award^[10]
2008 – Chicago Athenaeum: International Architecture Award^[11]
2008 – MIPIM Asia: Business Centre Category^[12]
2007 – Institution of Structural Engineers: Award for Commercial or Retail Structure
2007 – National Council of Structural Engineers Association: Excellence in Structural Engineering: Award of Merit^[13]
2007 – Structural Engineers Association of California: Award of Excellence: Landmark Structures Category^[14]
2007 – Structural Engineers Association of Illinois: Excellence in Structural Engineering: Most Innovative Structure
2007 – Structural Engineers Association of Northern California: Award of Excellence: New Construction Category
2006 – General Electric Company: Edison Award for Excellence in Lighting Design
2005 – Beijing Quality Project Evaluation Committee: Great Wall Cup: Gold Medal

References

^ "New Beijing Poly Plaza, Beijing, China: New monolithic headquarters". World Architecture News. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b Sullivan, C.C. "Suspending Disbelief". Interior Design Magazine. Sandow Media. Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Project in Detail: New Beijing Poly Plaza". World Buildings Directory Online Database. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sarkisian, Mark; et al. "Suspending the Limits". CE Magazine. American Society of Civil Engineers. Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "Constructed Realities: 2011 Award Winners". American Institute of Architects, San Francisco Chapter. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ Zeiger, Mimi. "Performative Envelope Lab". 2011 R+D Awards: Winner. Architect Magazine. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Projects: Poly Corporation Headquarters". Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLP. Archived from the original on 2012-09-11.
^ "Innovative Land Use Making A Difference – The Urban Land Institute Announces Twelve Finalists for the 2010 Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific Competition". Urban Land Institute. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "2008 Honors & Awards Report". The American Institute of Architects: Hong Kong Chapter. Archived from the original on 2011-01-04.
^ "2008 American Architecture Awards". The Chicago Athenaeum. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "2008 INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE AWARDS FOR THE BEST NEW GLOBAL DESIGN". The Chicago Athenaeum. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "And the MIPIM Asia Awards 2008 Winners Are..." Business Wire. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^ "Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards". National Council of Structural Engineers Associations.
^ "Awards". Structural Engineers Association of California. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2012.