Case Study: Tencent achieves a bold, sustainable headquarters design with Thornton Tomasetti façade engineering

Tencent expands headquarters to 2.9 million ft² with Thornton Tomasetti

The customer, Tencent, a major global internet company, faced the challenge of designing the innovative façade for its new corporate headquarters, the Seafront Towers. The project required a complex system capable of withstanding typhoon conditions while meeting ambitious aesthetic and sustainability goals. They engaged vendor Thornton Tomasetti for its façade engineering services to address this challenge.

Thornton Tomasetti implemented a solution featuring 15 different skin systems, including unitized curtain walls and ETFE pneumatic cushions. A key innovation was the design of saw-tooth shaped box panels that provided a textured aesthetic and self-shading to reduce energy consumption. The vendor used advanced modeling software to ensure the panels were easy to fabricate and install. This approach allowed the project, which nearly quadrupled Tencent's office space, to be developed from concept to design in just seven months and achieve LEED Gold certification.

Tencent