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Beijing National Hotel’s flowing shape is composed of three distinct rings connected by a single, dynamic surface. Its shiny façade will be made from a lightweight cable-net structure with many windows and skylights providing for an ample flow of natural light to the interiors and the rainforest. The façade’s design also includes curvy grooves for rainwater collection to irrigate the rainforest within.

The hotel’s enclosing structure will be made from a double-layer skin system in which the outer layer is weather break and the internal weather proof, making a thermal enclosure and a thermal buffer zone. Inspired by nature and driven by Emergent’s experience in complex biological and thermal systems, energy efficient solar thermal pipes were also included within the design of the outer skin. At the highest point of the building, where the three rings join, a top-class restaurant with glorious 360 degrees views of the city will be constructed.

The hotel’s luxurious interiors will have the capacity for a record-breaking 1,500 rooms, many with views to the inside and outside spaces. There are also planned spaces for international conference halls, hotel service areas, the top restaurant and a very large and luscious rainforest, which will be protected by anti-corrosive ETFE plastic domes (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene).

Emergent is a renowned digital design office based in Los Angeles driven by biology and mathematical calculations within a context of contemporary design. The company’s principal, Tom Wiscombe, was named one of the “top 20 architects in the world who are making the future and transforming the way we work” by ICON Magazine, 2009.

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Via EcoFriend