SOM’s newest building at Beijing’s China World Trade Center (CWTC) complex

Ground will be broken on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 for Skidmore Owing & Merrill LLP (SOM)s newest building at Beijings China World Trade Center (CWTC) complex. The 58-story Phase 3B Tower features sleek horizontal bands of canted glass that wrap the buildings square floor plates. The 918-feet (280-meters) tall icon will be located immediately northeast of the 74-story, SOM-designed China World Trade Center Tower 3, completed in 2010which is the tallest building in the Chinese capital. More images and complete press release after the break.

The form is evocative, SOM Design Partner Brian Lee says. agoda, but it bamboo shoot or a pagoda, but its driven by practical issues. The exterior curtain wall is 3 degrees off vertical to make the faade... [via Arch Daily]