Controlled Transparency

This talk, by architects WilkinsonEyre, has been put on as part of the Architecture of Transparency exhibition at the Building Centre
About this Event

8 Bishopsgate is a 200 metre office tower conceived through the close integration of architecture and engineering. Its composition as a series of stacked volumes responds to the constraints of the site, protected views and the surrounding cluster, while resolving the structural and environmental demands of a tall building.

Unlike many glass towers, 8 Bishopsgate does not treat transparency as a uniform condition. Its façade operates as an active environmental layer, opening the building to daylight and views while shielding and insulating the interior. Glass must perform two seemingly opposing roles: creating openness and connection while protecting occupants from solar gain, glare, heat loss and changing weather.

Transparency is carefully calibrated across the building. Views are prioritised where they offer the greatest value, while solid areas are integrated into the north and east elevations. Adaptive shading responds as conditions change, balancing transparency, comfort and energy performance throughout the day and across the seasons.

The talk explores how this balance shaped the design and delivery of the façade. It considers the technical challenges and precision required to transform an apparently simple expression of transparency into a high performance environmental system. Transparency emerges not simply as a visual quality, but as an architectural condition shaped by context, climate, engineering, performance and experience.

Speakers: Ayman El Hibri, (WilkinsonEyre) and Jonathan Wilson (ARUP)