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Skidmore, Owings & Merrill: using laminated glass across three continents

Founded in 1936, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) has offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, London and Hong Kong. Senior SOM partners Roger Duffy, Brian Lee and Craig W. Hartman - and the firm's technical director, Keith Boswell - granted LGN interviews on SOM projects across three continents of the world.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China: Beijing's 'glass city' applauded for its sense of openness

Brian Lee

The exterior design of ICBC is rooted in traditional Chinese architecture.

The headquarters of ICBC, China's second largest bank, is situated only three blocks from Tiananmen Square and the seat of China's national government.

SOM Partner Brian Lee told LGN: "The design is rooted in ancient Chinese architectural traditions regarding the shape of the roof and a circular garden inside the complex. However, by using laminated glass we created a very modern building façade and interiors that communicate a new transparence, both functionally and symbolically. The bank's leadership had a strong desire to develop a highly transparent building to house a modern working community. Laminated glass is therefore used everywhere, in transparent, semi-opaque and opaque forms to create a variety of spaces from private offices to shared, 'family' type rooms.

"We are absolutely thrilled that one of the major Chinese daily newspapers called the new ICBC headquarters a 'glass city', applauding its sense of literal and symbolic openness. This could only have been achieved using abundant glazing including laminated glass.

"We used laminated glass for many areas of the bank's facade because of the material's extreme flatness and high quality surface finish. The material also gives you great design freedom; you can make the interlayers translucent, patterned or transparent and develop various 'screening' effects in accordance with the level of opacity you want to achieve.

The translucent laminated glass walls face the bank's circular, inner courtyard.

"For ICBC's interior design, we fabricated translucent walls of laminated glass that resemble Chinese screens, in order to separate the private offices. The screens guard privacy yet even the fairly opaque laminate we used accentuates the available natural light, so that the screens tend to glow in a lovely way.

"Laminated glass is also used for a giant skylight that employs a tall (approx. 6-metre high), light-reflecting ring to bring natural daylight to the interior spaces and out to the entire circumference of the building. The light-reflecting ring is composed of individual blades of laminated glass, which are separately tilted to capture and deflect light all year round, down the 11 stories of the building. Each glass blade is about 60 cm wide and 30 cm tall. We used mirrored reflective glass that is laminated to an Industrex prismatic. If the glass had been mirrored only, the lighting effect would have been too harsh. The effect of mirroring and texture together diffuses the direct rays of the sun and gives the effect of splashes of light, which is very pleasing. This is one example of where the laminating process gave us the opportunity to combine various properties of glass and light in quite a novel way.

The light-reflecting ring of laminated glass in the bank's giant skylight

"The natural daylight from this skylight is projected onto the banking hall on the ground floor where the effect is really sparkling. Light is even captured down into the first, second and third basement levels for the auditorium and recreation spaces. These have interior walls of opaque laminated glass panels that serve to bounce off some light and reinforce the lighting effect.

"At the main entrance to the building and banking hall, the use of laminated glass allowed us to expand on the concept of transparency while resolving a number of critical safety and security issues. The use of translucent laminated glass means that customers and tellers have a degree of privacy, yet the area is still flooded with light. This whole translucent front façade area looks beautiful at night, when it is lit up and can be seen from the street, glowing like a lantern.

"The inner circular courtyard is very symbolic. As the ancient Chinese saying goes: "Earth is square; heaven is round." We designed in a circular 'oasis' that is a contemplative space, open to the sky. The corridors of the main building, the health clinic and the cafeteria structure all face onto this courtyard by way of laminated glass walls that are translucent up to head level and then clear above. This is like a very traditional, Chinese floor to ceiling window that is typically furnished with a soft curtain for privacy."