Project Details
- Project Name
- The Rocker at Poly Corporation Headquarters
- Location
- United States
- Project Types
- Commercial
- Awards
- 2012 AIA - State/Regional Awards
- Shared by
- Annie Milewski
- Project Status
- Built
Project Description
The Rocker is an elegant, boldly engineered device that resolves the complex structural forces of a dramatically suspended eight-story, lantern-like museum and the world's largest cable-net curtain wall. These are the key features of the northeast façade of the Poly Corporation Headquarters' 22-story-tall office building atrium in Beijing, China.
Two large diagonal cables along the faceted façade’s fold lines support the 295-feet high by 223-feet wide glass wall while the suspended museum structure acts as a counterweight.
The Rocker acts as a "reverse pulley" that allows wind and earthquake movement of the connected elements - building roof, museum, and curtain wall - to take place freely without significantly increasing the forces in the cables. The integrated approach to architectural and engineering creates unobstructed openings above and below the museum, enhancing natural day lighting and views for the building's occupants while creating a dramatic open space with a memorable and defining building detail.