Beacon / China
A large office complex masterplan. People come from across the world to visit the company to procure its products. As their planes approach the airport, they pass over the headquarters of the client and see the Beacon; projecting an image of the power of the company by a kind of optical telegraphy. The Beacon sits on the shore of a ‘harbour’, symbolising the company’s relation to the port of its home city. The office accommodation is arranged around the harbour, a strong base course of gabions filled with local stone takes up the first two storeys. The top four storeys are formed as a folded bar of COR-TEN steel, a beautiful red-brown hue. Between these sections is a glass circulation level, connecting to rooftop landscapes of base course buildings to the sides.
The Beacon is a 45m high tower of translucent glass. Internally used as a sales hall to showcase the company’s wares, the Beacon symbolises the progressive and creative ambitions of the company.
