OMA wraps Jomoo headquarters in white ceramic stripes

Architecture studio OMA has completed the Jomoo headquarters in Xiamen, China, featuring a facade composed of white ceramic stripes with a mountain-like base.

Located on the edge of the Xiamen central business district, where it sits between dense high-rises and a green hill, the 105-metre-tall skyscraper is the first office campus for Jomoo, China's largest sanitaryware company.

OMA drew on the rocky and mountainous terrain of Fujian province for its design, pulling up the podium to form a series of angles on the facade.

"The building stands at the intersection of two contrasting conditions — the dense high-rises of the city on one side, and forested hills on the other," said OMA. "The design embraces this duality through a continuous, sculptural form that merges base and tower, reinterpreting the conventional office typology."

The podium is formed of 21 triangular glass curtain walls, arranged at different-sized angles. This creates a facade with an irregular geometry that unfolds to reveal the entrance of the building.

Public functions, including the lobby, a showroom and a multipurpose hall with conference rooms, are housed in the podium, while the office spaces are located within the upper tower.

"Jomoo headquarters references craft as well as high-tech production, both elements of the company's mission and characteristics of the culture of Xiamen, past and present," explained OMA.

The studio also added white ceramic stripes to the glazed facade, to evoke the window tracery that is commonly seen in local architecture and reference the main material used in Jomoo's products.

Each ceramic panel features integrated drainage and air ventilation systems to contribute to the overall energy efficiency of the building.

"The completion of Jomoo's new headquarters is the first in a series of high-rise projects our office has designed in China over the past decade," said OMA partner Chris van Duijn.

"These projects explore new connections to their immediate urban context, reinterpreting the prevailing tower typology that has shaped much of China's recent urban expansion," he added.

OMA, also known as Office for Metropolitan Architecture, was founded by Rem Koolhaas, Elia Zenghelis, Madelon Vriesendorp and Zoe Zenghelis in 1975.

Elsewhere in China, the studio has curated an exhibition for luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton in Shanghai, while its Xinhu Hangzhou Prism defined by the asymmetric form is near completion.

The photography is by Chen Hao.

Project credits:

Partner: Chris van Duijn
Project architect: Chen Lu, Lingxiao Zhang
Concept: Mark Bavoso, Slava Savova, Sebastian Schulte, Ricky Suen, Gabriele Ubareviciute
Schematic: Pu Hsien Chan, Alan Lau, Chen Lu, Slava Savova, Sebestrian Schulte, Ricky Suen, Gabriele Ubareviciute, Yue Wu, Adisak Yavilas
Design development: Cecilia Lei, Chen Lu, Kevin Mak, Ricky Suen, Connor Sullivan, Gabriele Ubareviciute
Construction administration: Lingxiao Zhang, Chen Lu
Local architect: Huayi Design
Structural engineering: Huayi Design
Mechanical engineering: Huayi Design
Facade consultant: VS-A

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