Beijing, China
The upward rotation of the Sunshine Financial Center by Patrick Daly of Woods Bagot for Sunshine Insurance Group optimizes views, adds a strong presence among the neighboring buildings, and refers to the symbolic powers inherent in geometry.
Sunshine Financial Center has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The architects selected its tapering form for functional, aesthetic, and symbolic reasons.
Functionally, the 45% rotation optimizes views, providing views of City Gardens and sightlines through the void of the adjacent CCTV tower.
The orientation also avoids head-on views inside the neighboring tower in this dense environment.
Second, the rectilinear base is flexible enough to adapt to the insurance company’s changing needs over time, while the curved walls at the summit provide an extraordinary experience for tenants.
Inside the crown are a public bar, a lounge, and a Japanese restaurant.
The tower’s location at this sought-after site marks Sunshine’s strong presence in the city.
Aesthetically, its gentle curve subtly distinguishes it from its more angular, exuberant neighbors.
Its eased edges confer a discreet dignity, elegance, and timelessness.
Because it fronts the busy third-ring road, the architecture is designed to be appreciated by passing vehicles as well as by pedestrians.
This dynamic between the rectilinear footprint and the rounded summit is a symbolic reference to the earth and the sky, represented in traditional Chinese cosmology as a square and a circle, respectively.
In addition, classic geometry broadcasts stability, an important value for an insurance company.
Sunshine Insurance has demonstrated a commitment to quality and sustainability by investing in high-performance, energy-saving glass for the façade.
Fins provide protection from the harsh Beijing sun, and their varying lengths produce a shifting play of shadows and reflections throughout the day.
Similar to a traditional Chinese landscape painting, the glass gradually turns lighter blue as the tower climbs.
Through parametric design and analysis, the standard facade panels reached 87% out of the total panels.
It reduces the number of unique panels to save production, installation, and other potential costs.
Woods Bagot also designed sky garden atriums on either side of the 16th and 31st floors.
These four interior gardens are clearly visible from the surrounding city, broadcasting the Sunshine brand.
The 5-floor, 20,000-square-meter podium contains retail spaces that will activate the street, as well as workspaces, meeting rooms, and a clubhouse.
Curved double screens on three sides, reminiscent of the petals of a lotus flower, house LEDs that provide a series of visually striking light displays.
Project: Sunshine Financial Center
Architects: Woods Bagot
Lead Architect: Patrick Daly
Client: Sunshine Insurance Group
General Contractor: Beijing Urban Construction Group
Photographers: Justin Szeremeta
