ABSTRACT
Ideally, the structural frame and the services provided by the building are all part of an integrated system; steel beams containing circular apertures create an ideal way to thread cabling through a structure, while the thermal mass of concrete is frequently used as part of the cooling mechanism in office projects. The 18-storey tower does benefit from some gentle curves, and its mass is broken down into a pair of staggered wings which share a recessed join, but the real innovation is in the integration of structure and facade. The glazing units, extending over two storeys, are set back into the depth of these immense columns, allowing the structure itself to provide a rigorous, three-dimensional composition and a degree of shading. The double-height spaces of the Mailbox are only around 5 m high, so BDP had to exercise considerable ingenuity in adding these structures – reasonable head heights had to be preserved while delivering cabling beneath raised floors.
