Minmetals Financial Center

Along with extensively landscaped public space and other amenities, the building’s iconic design affirms its status as the area’s gateway. Resembling wind-filled sails, the arcing north and south facades are balanced by mast-like silhouettes on the other two sides, while exterior lateral bracing recalls a framework of nautical ties and battens.

Four-story-high porches on the north and south lead to a generous public open space with a terraced landscape that incorporates water features and public art, integrating active uses on the ground floor with a linked multi-story retail pavilion. The extensively developed landscape is part of a sustainable strategy that includes a high-efficiency exterior wall, operable windows, and internal shading devices, all of which contribute to the building’s LEED Gold certification.

Floor-to-ceiling vision glass and matching shadow-box glazing at the spandrels give the “sails” a light and open quality, while the “masts” combine vision glass and stone spandrels. Larger expanses of stone at the base bring a sense of solidity to the entry levels.