Eco Factor: Sustainable architecture for Taiwan’s Chinatrust Bank.

The Chinatrust Bank has often been referred to as the “Best Bank in Taiwan.” The bank is now looking not only to benefit its customers with its practices, but to benefit the environment on the whole with a newly designed skyscraper that has broken ground in Taiwan. Designed by Los Angeles-based NBBJ Architects along with local Fei & Cheng Associates, the development will consist of a 30-story main building, which will serve as the headquarters of the Chinatrust Bank.

Scheduled to be completed by 2012, the headquarters building will be accompanied by another 21-story skyscraper serving as the commercial office building, a 10-story hotel and a four-story retail level. The architecture is designed to serve the people of Taiwan along with great results for the environment too. The podium of the architecture will carry roof gardens and systems will be installed to minimize rainwater runoff. The façade will be designed to maximize daylight in an effort to reduce the energy required for indoor lighting during daytime. These sustainable features will make the architecture benchmark with the Taiwanese equivalent of a LEED-NC Gold Rating.

The Dark Side:

The systems put in place would just reduce the amount of energy it requires. Energy will still be sourced from conventional electricity grids, something which futuristic architecture should not depend on.

Via: Bustler422659