Page 18 - Building Journal - June 2017

building feature

Tower (IFC) and Canton Tower (TV Tower)
are wrapped in bright white lines. The
CTF Guangzhou will share this motif. As
a landmark for a city that bridges multiple
cultures, the CTF Guangzhou s terracotta
facade was chosen for the central role it
played in both Eastern and Western history.
Terracotta was used as a building material in
Roman times, and was very popular during
America s early 20th Century skyscraper
boom.

Sustainability
From an environmental standpoint, the
embodied energy of terracotta is far less
than aluminum, glass, or steel. It is self-
cleaning and corrosion-resistant. Moreover,
it can be produced in many locations in
China, reducing the environmental impact
of shipping. By being clad in a renewable
resource that is so close to nature, the CTF
Guangzhou symbolizes a future where
sustainable strategies drive economic
development for the client, for Guangzhou,
and for China as a whole.
The building employs a number of energy
efficient tools to reduce its environmental
footprint. In addition to its strong multi-level
connections to public transportation, the use
of high-efficiency chillers and heat recovery
from the water-cooled chiller condensers all
contribute to the buildings sustainability.
A major innovation on the facade is the
use of angled ceramic-clad piers that preserve
floor-to-ceiling views from the interior while
providing generous shading on the exterior.
In a subtropical climate like Guangzhou, this
provides a much more thermally comfortable
environment than an all-glass curtain wall.
(Source: KPF)

16 Building Journal