Project Case | Beijing Sub-center's First Municipally-Owned State-Enterprise Low-Carbon Headquarters Building: Beitou Tower

Beitou Group is the platform enterprise responsible for the planning, investment, and construction of the city’s sub-center. Beitou Building serves as Beitou Group’s headquarters in the sub-center, offering both office spaces and supporting facilities. As the first municipal state-owned enterprise headquarters building to relocate to the city’s sub-center, the construction of the building has drawn significant attention.

Southeast aerial view of Beitou Building

 

The project site is located approximately 29 kilometers east of the city center, adjacent to the副中心 administrative office area on its western side, and bordered to the east by the under-construction East Campus of Renmin University of China. To the south lies the Power Center, while the north side features the City Planning Institute’s office building, which has been comprehensively planned, designed, and constructed as part of an integrated urban development initiative. The architectural design for the project was carefully coordinated with the overall planning of the City Planning Institute building, ensuring alignment with the urban design guidelines and aesthetic principles that govern the city’s副中心 development—these serve as the key starting points for the design approach.

 

Green buildings achieve an energy-saving rate of 42%.

Exterior view of Beitou Building, stock photo. Photography by Chang Ming

 

Dressed in a cyan-colored coat, Decorated with bronze tripod patterns resembling "seal script," Beitou Building takes the shape of the traditional Chinese ritual vessel known as the "Square Tripod." It symbolizes unity, mutual assistance, and prosperity.

 

The facade features "dingwen" (tripod pattern) elements, utilizing a unitized curtain wall design that enables natural ventilation and shading while enhancing both the visual and functional experience between indoor and outdoor spaces. Additionally, the "four waters converging in the hall" roof design, combined with innovative shading technology, effectively reduces energy consumption.

 

 

Stepping into the building's grand lobby, the openwork skylight allows sunlight to stream down just perfectly. Beitou Building Built according to the standards of "Green Three Stars, Healthy Three Stars," Adhere to Green, low-carbon, renewable The energy design concept, Building a model of low-carbon, energy-efficient architecture.

 

To maximize the utilization of solar energy resources, the building's rooftop is equipped with a photovoltaic system covering approximately 3,200 square meters, with an installed capacity of 413.5 kilowatts. Annual power generation is approximately 400,000 kilowatt-hours.

 

The building also employs "Geothermal Heat Pump + Municipal District Heating + Chillers + Ice Storage Cooling" The integrated energy system demonstrates significant energy-saving benefits compared to the conventional "district heating + chiller unit" system configuration.

 

The ground-source heat pump beneath the structural baseplate provides clean energy for the building.

 

The building's total energy consumption amounted to 23.23 million kWh, while the geothermal heat pump system combined with winter internal-zone waste heat recovery contributed 4.07 million kWh of renewable energy utilization, accounting for 17.52%. Additionally, the photovoltaic power generation system generated 1.02 million kWh of renewable energy, representing 4.41% of the total. As a result, the project achieves a renewable energy utilization rate of 21.93%. It is estimated that this will reduce annual CO₂ emissions by 1,220.07 tons. ₂ , equivalent to the carbon sequestration capacity of 2.11 square kilometers of forest—11.2 tons of SO₂ ₂ 11.2 tons of NOx and 5.6 tons of particulate matter. Compared to the conventional "municipal heating + chiller unit" system, this setup reduces energy consumption by the equivalent of 463.19 tons of standard coal, resulting in an energy-saving rate of approximately 42% for the entire system.

 

In addition to drawing inspiration from cultural imagery, the project also focuses primarily on building performance and the practical needs of office architecture. By employing a modular curtain-wall design strategy, the project creates a standardized, modulated space for office areas. Each standard unit features a 250mm overhang, which not only serves as a ventilator in the outer facade, forming an air-buffering chamber, but also doubles as a fixed external shading element. Combined with movable internal shades, this design enhances workplace comfort even further.

 

The building’s operable windows are concealed within cavities, ensuring ample natural ventilation during normal conditions while enabling efficient natural smoke exhaust in emergency situations for the office areas. On the interior side of each unit, all decorative finishes have been fully completed; once the units are suspended into place, the interior spatial interfaces are seamlessly finalized, optimizing the transition between the refined interior design and the curtain wall system. The building comprises over 1,000 standard units in total, all of which were prefabricated in the factory before being directly lifted, fitted, and connected on-site. This high degree of prefabrication has significantly accelerated the overall construction schedule.

 

A comprehensive solution for the integrity of standard units in the exterior curtain wall of Beitou Building

 

The building envelope was constructed according to the Green Building Three-Star standard, significantly enhancing the overall performance of the building envelope by 20%. Additionally, the building’s shape coefficient is only 0.11, and in all areas featuring all-glass curtain walls, an overhanging sun-shading strategy has been implemented, greatly improving indoor comfort levels.

 

In addition, the office spaces in the building feature a shallow-depth design, ensuring ample natural daylight and enhancing occupant comfort. The office areas and the central lobby are fully equipped with natural ventilation, while most zones on the office floors can benefit from natural smoke exhaust systems. This approach reduces the reliance on mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning systems, thereby promoting energy efficiency and lowering overall consumption.

 

The project utilizes solar energy as the primary heat source for domestic hot water, supplemented by a 99 kW commercial storage-type gas water heater with built-in temperature control. Solar thermal systems provide 94.8% of the total domestic hot water demand. The system is equipped with three-level water metering for precise measurement and efficient water conservation. Municipal water pressure is fully leveraged for direct supply. A variable-frequency water supply system is installed in the high-rise area, ensuring optimal performance under varying load conditions while significantly reducing energy consumption. Pressure-reducing valves are strategically placed along the water distribution branches to prevent overpressure issues. Additionally, the selected water pumps meet the stringent Level 2 energy efficiency standards. Meanwhile, reclaimed water is used for indoor toilet flushing, outdoor landscape irrigation, road cleaning, garage washing, and cooling tower make-up, resulting in a 56% reduction in municipal tap water consumption.

 

A green, health-focused concept creates a first-class headquarters building.

 

All sanitary appliance fittings are water-saving, and the water efficiency rating of the sanitary fixtures has reached Level 1, achieving 100% compliance. Landscaping utilizes water-efficient sprinkler irrigation. In the garage and for road cleaning, 100% of the water usage is handled by high-pressure water guns designed for water conservation. Additionally, prefabricated plumbing and drainage systems—featuring overhead installation and integrated bathroom designs—are engineered to achieve a separation application rate as high as 95%.

 

Smart Buildings: Intelligent and Precision-Based Management

 

 

Walking into the conference room in the office area, the overhead lights automatically turn on. When people arrive, the lights turn on; when they leave, the lights go off. This smart control system can be seen everywhere in Beitou Building.

 

The building's comprehensive utilization BIM, GIS, Internet of Things, Big Data, Cloud Computing These technologies establish a comprehensive management and operation platform that spans across various systems, targeting resources such as hardware, systems, applications, and services within the building, thereby enabling seamless control over the entire structure. Control systems, energy consumption systems, lighting systems, security systems Visualize and integrate more than ten subsystems, enabling seamless interconnection among the systems, data sharing, and coordinated responses. Achieve intelligent and refined management of the building.

 

 

Based on the intelligent control and management system for mechanical and electrical equipment facilities, it can adapt to the needs of various application scenarios. Set up air conditioning, fresh air system, and lighting environment system The operating mode automatically adjusts equipment performance across different seasons, spaces, and time periods. Achieve the goal of on-demand energy conservation.

 

As the first municipally-owned state enterprise headquarters to settle in the city's sub-center, Beitou Building has successfully achieved its goals of high quality, high efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, setting a shining example for driving the construction industry toward a transformative shift toward high-quality development. The completion of Beitou Building not only adds a vibrant new landmark to the city's sub-center but also showcases outstanding performance and practical implementation in areas such as low-carbon sustainability, energy conservation, emission reduction, and green operations—providing valuable lessons and inspiration for other buildings across the industry.

 

Some materials sourced from: Beijing Tongzhou Release, Active House