Making Sustainable Design More Cost Effective

“In late 2020, the Beijing skyline will welcome an eye-catching new addition: the Beijing CBD Z6 Tower. With a 5-star hotel and office space for 10,000 people, the CBD Z6 Tower features a design innovative for its visual impact and its sustainability. The CBD Z6 Tower takes its shape from a flower bud just beginning to blossom. A double-skin façade system of panels serves as the bud’s “petals” and provides a gap in the cladding that supports natural ventilation, keeping down energy use in the building. Realizing 2D design tools lacked the power needed on the complex project, the CBD Z6 Tower design team turned to the BIM (Building Information Modeling) software in the Autodesk Architecture, Engineering & Construction Collection to drive the design process.”

“Using BIM for calculation, we reduced the number of panel types from 446 to only 73, a reduction of more than 80%. We further optimized the way the panels overlap to eliminate the need for expensive curved glazing…

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