Innovation Tower
Henan University of Science & Technology

Drawing on the power of parametric scripting, the design of the “Innovation Tower” (7 Bamboo Groves) gathers disparate programmatic, physical, and infrastructural elements from the requirements of the building and its surrounding context, and synthesizes these into a form that seamlessly integrates the building into the idiosyncrasies of its site while expressing multiple flows of movement. In the spirit of the innovation and the creativity, the tower embodies state-of-the-art technological advances to become a urban landmark.

The complex structure and skin adapt to the tower’s nonstandard form while simultaneously responding to a range of complex, and often competing, physical and environmental considerations. Technologies integrated into the “Innovation Tower” capture the wind for the production of energy and selectively minimize solar gain while maximizing glare-free daylight. Both the form and the orientation of the building respond to the path of the sun.

The planar, clear-glazed north façade maximizes interior exposure to year-round natural daylight. A curvilinear second skin of diagonal stainless steel mesh panels wraps the tower’s continuous glazed façades to minimize heat gain and glare and maximize energy efficiency. Its high-performance skin transforms with changes in light, becoming opaque, translucent, or transparent from different angles and vantage points.