U.S. architects Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture have now begun construction of Head Office for the Federation of Korean Industries. AS+GG won an international competition to design the tower in 2009. The building is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

The project will feature an innovative exterior wall designed specifically for FKI while the building skin is designed to help reduce the internal heating and cooling loads of the tower. The spandrel areas of the southwest and northwest façades feature building integrated photovoltaic panels (BIPV).

By angling the spandrel panels 30 degrees upward toward the sun, the design team maximized the amount of energy collected, generating enough power to help maintain the electrical systems throughout the tower core and the office space. Just below the spandrel panels, the vision panels are angled 15 degrees downward toward the ground, minimizing the amount of direct sun radiation and glare.

AS+GG collaborated on the design with the engineering firms Thornton Tomasetti and Environmental Systems Design, as well as the local firm Chang-Jo Architects, on the project. FKI's member companies include top Korean corporations such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai Motors.



The building skin is designed to help reduce the internal heating and cooling loads of the tower and collect energy by integrating photovoltaic panels into the spandrel areas of the southwest and northwest facades, which receive a significant amount of direct sunlight per day. By angling the spandrel panels 30 degrees upward toward the sun, the design team maximised the amount of energy collected, generating enough power to help maintain the electrical systems throughout the tower core and the office space.