Diego Delso
BMW Center
- Location
- China
- Design firm
- Atelier FCJZ
- Typology
- Commercial
- Years
- 2024
- Status
- Complete
Facade facts
- Facade summary
- A highly transparent, structurally expressive envelope designed to maximize interior visibility for automobile display while maintaining a distinct architectural identity.
- Documented intention
- To create a seamless visual connection between the showroom interior and the passing public, transforming the building envelope into an active display window for the automotive brand.
- Street relationship
- The envelope acts as a giant vitrine, directly engaging the streetscape and vehicular traffic, which is highly suited for an automotive showroom context.
- Climate relationship
- The design likely incorporates high-performance low-E glass to mitigate solar heat gain in Jiangsu's hot summers while maintaining transparency.
- Window pattern
- Large-format modular grid reflecting the structural bay width.
- Glazing
- Double-glazed Low-E
- Depth
- Deep structural bays creating a pronounced play of light and shadow.
- Rhythm
- Regular, repetitive structural bay rhythm matching the building's structural grid.
- Structural Glass
- Structural Glass — Showroom storefront and curtain wall cladding — Smooth,reflective
- Steel
- Steel — Primary mullions and external structural support framework — Matte coated
- Aluminum Panels
- Aluminum Panels — Upper floor cladding and spandrel zones — Metallic satin
- Structural Glass Curtain Wall
- A customized, large-format glazed curtain wall system hung from the primary structural steel frames to enable large column-free display openings.
- Metal Rainscreen System
- Rear-ventilated flat aluminum panels serving as opaque infills over the secondary service volumes.
Tags
- 2021–2030
- 21st Century
- A customized
- A highly transparent
- Aluminum Cladding
- Aluminum Panels
- Atelier FCJZ
- Automobile Showroom
- Car exhibition showroom
- Cfa - Humid subtropical climate
- China
- Commercial
- Contemporary
- Curtain Wall
- Double-glazed Low-E
- Exposed Concrete
- Jiangsu
- Point-Supported Glass System
- Rainscreen Cladding
- Regular
- Steel Frame
- Structural Glass
- Tectonic Expression
- Yung Ho Chang
- and customer service areas.
- brand experience zones
- offices
- reflective
- steel
- suburban_or_commercial_strip
Description
The facade is characterized by high-transparency structural glass glazing units integrated with an exposed steel or concrete framework, typical of Atelier FCJZ's interest in tectonic honesty. It features a play of solids and voids, with large glazed showrooms on the lower levels and a more solid or screened envelope on the upper service/office levels.
Visual analysis
Visually, the facade establishes a dialog between the heavy structural elements and the lightweight, transparent glass infill, emphasizing depth and structural clarity.
Gallery
Sources
- Atelier FCJZ Official Project Archive · Atelier FCJZ