Project Case | Beijing Sub-center’s First Low-Carbon Headquarters Building Owned by a Municipally-Run State-Owned Enterprise: Beitou Building

Beitou Group is the platform enterprise responsible for the planning, investment, and construction of the city’s sub-center. The Beitou Building serves as the headquarters of Beitou Group in the sub-center, offering both office space and supporting facilities. As the first headquarters building of a municipally-owned state-owned enterprise to relocate to the city’s sub-center, the construction of this building has attracted widespread attention.

Bird's-eye view of the northeast corner of Beitou Building

 

The project site is located approximately 29 kilometers east of the inner-city center. To the west, it is adjacent to the administrative office district of the sub-center; to the east, it borders the East Campus of Renmin University of China, which is currently under construction. To the south lies the Power Center, and to the north stands the office building of the Municipal Planning Institute—a structure that has been comprehensively planned, designed, and constructed as part of an integrated urban development initiative. The architectural design has been carefully coordinated and integrated with the Planning Institute’s building, taking the urban design guidelines and aesthetic principles for the city’s sub-center as the primary starting point for the design process.

 

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

Exterior view of Beitou Building. Stock photo. Photography by Chang Ming.

 

Wearing a cyan-colored coat, Decorated with bronze ding patterns resembling “seal script,” the Beitou Building is shaped like the traditional Chinese ritual vessel known as the “square ding.” It symbolizes unity, mutual assistance, and prosperity.

 

The facade features “ding pattern” elements and adopts a unitized curtain wall design, enabling natural ventilation and shading while enhancing the visual and functional experience both indoors and outdoors. The roof design, inspired by the “four waters converging in the hall,” incorporates innovative shading technologies to effectively reduce energy consumption.

 

 

Stepping into the building’s central lobby, the openwork skylight lets sunlight stream in just perfectly. Beitou Building Built according to the “Green Three-Star, Healthy Three-Star” standards, Uphold Green, low-carbon, renewable energy design philosophy, Create a model of low-carbon and energy-efficient buildings.

 

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 adopts Ground-source heat pump + municipal heating + chiller + ice storage cold storage The combined energy system demonstrates significant energy-saving benefits compared to the conventional “district heating + chiller” system.

 

Ground-source heat pumps under the structural baseplate provide clean energy for the building.

 

The building’s total energy consumption amounts to 23.23 million kWh. Among this, the geothermal heat pump system combined with waste heat recovery from internal zones during winter accounts for 4.07 million kWh of renewable energy utilization, representing 17.52%. The photovoltaic power generation system contributes 1.02 million kWh of renewable energy utilization, accounting for 4.41%. Thus, the overall renewable energy utilization rate for this project is 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, or 11.2 tons of SO. ₂ 11.2 tons of NOx and 5.6 tons of dust. Compared to the conventional “municipal heating + chiller” system, this approach reduces energy consumption by the equivalent of 463.19 tons of standard coal, achieving an energy-saving rate of approximately 42% for the entire energy system.

 

In addition to drawing inspiration from cultural imagery, the project also focuses primarily on building performance and the practical needs of office buildings. By adopting a modular curtain-wall design strategy, the project has created a set of standardized, modular spaces for office areas. The standard modules feature a 250mm overhang, which serves as a ventilated element in the exterior curtain wall, forming an air-buffer chamber. The projecting components provide fixed external shading, while combined with movable internal shading, they significantly enhance office comfort.

 

The building’s operable windows are concealed within cavities, ensuring ample natural ventilation under normal conditions and enabling natural smoke exhaust from the office areas in emergencies. Once the interior of each unit is fully finished and the units have been hoisted into place, the interior space’s interface is complete, optimizing the transition between the fine-fit interior finishes and the curtain wall. The building comprises over a thousand standard units, all of which were prefabricated in the factory and then directly hoisted and connected on-site. This high degree of prefabrication has significantly accelerated the overall construction schedule.

 

A holistic solution for the standard units of the exterior curtain wall of Beitou Building

 

The building envelope was constructed in accordance with the Green Building Three-Star Standard, overall improving the building’s envelope performance by 20%. In addition, the building’s shape coefficient is only 0.11, and all areas featuring all-glass curtain walls employ overhanging sun-shading strategies, significantly enhancing indoor spatial comfort.

 

In addition, the office spaces in the building feature a shallow floor plan, maximizing natural daylight and enhancing user comfort. The office spaces and the central lobby can achieve fully natural ventilation, and most areas on the office floors can benefit from natural smoke exhaust, reducing the frequency of use of mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning systems and thereby promoting energy savings and consumption reduction.

 

The project’s domestic hot water heating source in the kitchen utilizes solar energy, supplemented by a 99-kW commercial storage-type gas water heater with built-in control for setting the desired temperature. Solar energy accounts for 94.8% of the total domestic hot water demand. The system is equipped with three-level water metering devices to facilitate accurate measurement and promote water conservation. Municipal water pressure is fully utilized for direct supply. A variable-frequency water supply system is installed in the high-rise zone to accommodate various load conditions and significantly reduce energy consumption. Pressure-reducing valves are installed on the water supply branch lines to prevent overpressure situations. The selected pumps meet Level 2 energy efficiency standards. Reclaimed water is used for indoor toilet flushing, outdoor landscape irrigation, road watering, garage cleaning, and cooling tower make-up, thereby reducing municipal tap water consumption by 56%.

 

A first-class headquarters building built on green and healthy principles.

 

All sanitary fixture accessories are water-saving, and the water efficiency rating of sanitary fixtures reaches Level 1 at 100%. Landscaping utilizes water-efficient sprinkler irrigation. Garage and road washing employs 100% water-saving high-pressure water guns. Prefabricated plumbing and drainage pipelines are installed overhead and integrated with bathrooms, achieving a separation application rate as high as 95%.

 

Smart Buildings: Intelligent and Refined Management

 

 

As you enter 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 turn off. This smart control system is随处可见 in Beidou Building.

 

Building integrated application BIM, GIS, Internet of Things, Big Data, Cloud Computing and other technologies to establish a comprehensive management and operation platform that spans across systems, targeting hardware, systems, applications, services, and other resources within buildings, thereby enabling integrated management of the entire building complex. Automatic control system, energy consumption system, lighting system, security system Integrate more than ten subsystems visually, enabling interconnection among the systems, data sharing, and coordinated responses. Implement intelligent and refined management of the building.

 

 

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

 

As the first municipal state-owned enterprise headquarters to be located in the city’s sub-center, Beitou Building has achieved the goals of high quality, high efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, setting a benchmark for driving the construction industry’s transformation toward high-quality development. The completion of Beitou Building not only adds a vibrant highlight to the city’s sub-center, but also demonstrates outstanding performance and practices in areas such as low-carbon environmental protection, energy conservation and emission reduction, and green operations, providing valuable lessons and experiences that other buildings in the industry can draw upon.

 

Source of some materials: Beijing Tongzhou Release, Active House