The Rolex building designed by world-renowned architects Kengo Kuma and HDF spirals into the skyline of Dallas. In a way it reminds me of the Whomping Willow on the grounds of Hogworts from the Harry Potter movies. With the fun out of the way here is a quote from the designers. “The theme of the design is the integration of the land with the building,” Kuma explains. “Usually, office buildings are independent monuments, and the building is separate from the land around it. So I thought of starting with the landscape by connecting the building to the ground with a low Japanese castle wall, and twisted the building to show the continuous movement from terrain to building, from the bottom to the top – the dynamic form of the building.” -Kengo Kuma
“Instead of facing buildings directly opposite, the twist presents them with more open views across road intersections and the cityscape beyond.” With a series of stacked floor plates that stagger and give the appearance of a twisting tower, the building allows for more outdoor space on each floor, lending to a calm atmosphere, natural beauty, and progressive style” -Kengo Kuma
Large rocks surround of the base of the building that gives a sense of solidarity based on old Japanese castle fortifications. 6-inch louvers encompass the building and provide shade from Dallas’s harsh sun. They are made of anodized aluminum that is made to look like natural wood to better last over time under the Texas climate then actual wood itself could.
Copyright Leonid Furmansky
“Kuma has a philosophy of integrating nature into his buildings”
The projecting edges of each floor deck are covered with plants, gardens in the open, a two-story event space at the top of the building, and around its base – a “greening” provided by third-generation landscape designer Sadafumi Uchiyama. The event space is planted with trees, and the base around the building also has small pools and waterfalls.
Construction of Rolex Building Dallas