Sold on good design
VW Brand Centre
Beijing, China
Located in the commercial centre of Beijing, China, the new VW Brand Centre will provide Volkswagen with a state of the art sales centre in the heart of Asia.
Featuring a complex facade that wraps around the building, the centre comprises four storeys of first class showroom and office space. Buro Happold provided facade engineering, specialist steel structural engineering and 3D modelling for the building envelope. The architect’s vision for the façade provided a number of complex challenges for our team.
Challenge
The intricate, complex form of the facade presented a number of challenges for our team. The facade is a continuous skin around the building, consisting of a louvre panel system that houses an inner wall that is made up of several different materials, including metal cladding, masonry and glazing. A complex steelwork system is integrated with the primary structure and the facade to support the louvres’ doubly curved surfaces.
Solution
In order to meet the aesthetic requirements of the architectural design while balancing the cost and complexity of manufacturing and installing the facade, our team provided detailed parametric studies and scripts to subdivide the louvre panels and set out the steel structure. Key considerations during our investigations included maintaining the continuity and smoothness of the curved panels, minimising the number of different sizes of panels used and carefully analysing the louvre configuration. Additionally, coordination of the facade joints and supporting structure was vital to ensure minimal steelwork was used.
Value
Demonstrating our unique experience of working with complex geometry and delivering state of the art buildings, we were able to realise a design that many other firms would not be able to deliver. In addition to its striking appearance, the Beijing VW Brand Centre’s louvre panels also provide shading to the façade, reducing solar gain and contributing towards the sustainability of the building. Set to be completed in mid 2016, the centre will enhance the VW brand as well as offer outstanding facilities for occupants.
