Zhuhai, China
The Zhuhai China Resources Bank Headquarters marks a major milestone for developer CR Land as one of their first ultra-low energy high-rise office towers.
Located in northern Zhuhai near the city’s North Railway Station, the 60,000-square-meter office tower and bank hall complex is a flagship project for CR Land, highlighting their commitment to China’s “dual carbon” targets.
By combining strategies that reduce energy usage, maximize energy performance, and generate 15% of the complex’s energy consumption, the building will achieve a comprehensive energy savings rate of 46%.
Zhuhai China Resources Bank Headquarters by Goettsch Partners, won a 2025 Good Design Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design, and Urban Studies.
The creation of an ultra-low-energy building was prioritized in the early stages of the project and served as a guiding principle throughout the design process.
With this goal in mind, the design team explored a variety of high-performance façade strategies.
Multiple design alternatives were evaluated, alongside a comprehensive solar analysis, which led to the integration of 1,100 square meters of photovoltaic panels into the spandrel zone of the tower’s south façade.
These BIPV panels ultimately comprise 28% of the curtain wall surface area and are a major contributor to the overall production of on-site energy.
The BIPVs integrate solar cell technology into the laminated spandrel glass panels in a way that maintains the high-gloss aesthetic of the curtain wall system.
An additional 2,100 square meters of photovoltaic panels are located on the tower and podium roofs, further increasing the project’s solar energy harvesting capability.
The combined 3,200 square meters of photovoltaic panels account for a renewable energy utilization rate of 15%—a significant amount for high-rise office towers.
Reduction strategies include strategically locating major energy rooms near sources to reduce power loss, increasing operational efficiency, and improving the thermal performance of the façade.
The tower’s curtain wall system improves energy performance by optimizing its configuration, which includes a window-to-wall ratio of nearly 0.5 on all facades, despite a seemingly all-glass appearance.
To further reduce energy inefficiency, all vision glass has a triple low-emissivity coating, helping the curtain wall achieve a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.22.
In addition, the entire unitized curtain wall system is thermally broken.
The tower façade is lined with vertical piers, integrated with operable panels that provide natural ventilation for the building’s occupants.
The 500-millimeter-wide piers are spaced every 3 meters along the perimeter of the building for user access and to improve user comfort. Despite the “breathable” façade concept, each pier is fully insulated to maintain the thermal integrity of the building enclosure.
Equally important to achieving the “dual carbon” target was the need for the headquarters tower to have an iconic presence in Zhuhai’s growing high-tech district.
Located near the South China Sea, the tower’s form expresses strength and stability in alignment with the values of CR Bank, while the high-performance façade accentuates the building’s verticality and presence on the skyline.
The tower’s crown is composed of layers of fritted glass and bronze aluminum, creating a glowing omnidirectional lantern at night.
Project: Zhuhai China Resources Bank Headquarters
Design Architects: Goettsch Partners
Architects of Record: China Construction Design International (LDI)
Interior Architects: HPP Architekten
Client: China Resources Land Limited (CR Land)
Photographers: CreatAR and AST Studio
