Structural skeletons define the character of modern facades

Contemporary architects increasingly use exposed structural elements to dictate both the visual identity and environmental performance of large-scale buildings. In Milan, the Unipol Tower employs an elliptical form with an opaque double-skin facade and a central atrium to buffer temperature fluctuations and lower energy consumption (New York Times). This strategy of revealing the underlying load-bearing system echoes the approach taken by engineers at London’s Tower Bridge, where a Victorian steel skeleton supports two 1,000-tonne bascules while granite cladding provides a Gothic aesthetic to harmonize with the neighboring Tower of London (Love London). By prioritizing these structural skeletons, designers create buildings that manage both their physical load and their relationship with the surrounding urban environment.

• MAD Architects designed the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles with white panels of varying dimensions to resemble a cloud, omitting all right angles (Coco Mocoe).
• Amin Taha of Groupwork utilized basalt columns and decorative facade tattooing for a ten-storey North London housing project to maximize space and height under planning constraints (Machine Books).
• SOM reimagined Denver Union Station by adding an open-air train hall that creates a dynamic contrast between the historic structure and modern transit-oriented development (John Valentine from Architecture for the Soul).
• Petra Heights in London features apartment towers constructed from three-metre slabs of rough basalt and igneous larvikite, creating a rugged, stone-based aesthetic (The Guardian).