2005China National Offshore Oil Corporation
Beijing, China
Corporate building: CNOOC headquarters
Architect: Hugh Trumbull, KPF
Terracotta Today
Why Terracotta is a modern architect's Material of choice: Clay can take any shape or form. For this project the glaze colours and -textures are a modern translation of the walls (iron-red) and the roofs (yellow) in the Forbidden City. An effort was made to connect this very tall structure with the scale of the historic buildings. A lower structure, out of which a rounded tower arises, uses a custom designed iron-red textured glaze for the wall units and clay rods. This color was developed because it pays hommage to the walls of the ancient palaces.
CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation), Beijing.
The glazes, in a red and yellow color shade, symbolizing the traditional colors of the old imperial city of Beijing.
Exterior:
The red glaze of the plinth refers to the terracotta palaces of the Forbidden City nearby. SCJ not only designed the color but also the hammered texture of the glaze. The architect wanted a layered skin that had a different look when seen from a distance than up close: "Take it and move it into something really unique." H.T. A special feature is the curved shape of some of the ceramic panels.
Interior:
The immense atrium has been executed in the yellow of the roof tiles in the Forbidden City. The rounded triangular shape of the ceramic units makes for a lively play of light and shadow, which is reinforced by the tactile finish of the skin.
Peter van Kester
