It is one of Beijing’s most fascinating and impressive buildings: with its headquarters, China’s largest oil company, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, has built itself a monument.

According to the architects, it is designed as a direct reminder of offshore oil production: the low part of the building at the front resembles an oil tanker while that triangular tower behind it appears like a mighty oil platform.

While the tower features a completely glazed exterior shell, the “tanker” is clad in ceramic elements with a red effect glazed finish. Closed surfaces are completely covered in red panels, while baguettes mounted in front of the window openings like Venetian blinds ensure that light can penetrate. The gently curve surfaces that encompass a variety of areas including the inner courtyard are clad using suitably formed NBK elements.

The heart of the tower is formed by a three-sided atrium in which a cascade of rounded baguettes bars finished in crème yellow creates a transparent ambience that is suffused by light. The sunlight that filters through conjures up ever-changing, luminous effects. The ceramic components, in particular, form a link between contemporary design and oriental culture and tradition as it appears in lacquer art.