FUNCTION OF THE BULDING

Bank of America Tower (New York City)

The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park

functions was designed to set a new standard in high-
performance buildings and advertised to be one of the
most efficient and ecologically friendly buildings in the
world. , for both the office workers who occupy the
tower and for a city and country that are awakening to
the modern imperative of sustainability. Drawing on
concepts of biophilia or humans' innate need for
connection to the natural environment the vision at the
occupant scale was to create the highest quality modern
workplace by emphasizing daylight, fresh air, and an
intrinsic connection to the outdoors (Archinomy corporation, 2008).

The Bank of America Tower produces a high level of sustainability within the commercial
market place, creating a strong identity for itself and acting as an exemplary execution of
sustainable technology integration, urban intensification, and advanced workplace design on
the most broad levels. With its chamfered top and crystalline geometry, the form of the
building eschews the orthogonal blocks of the Modernist tradition creating a sculptural addition
to the New York skyline without sacrificing the efficiency and functionality of the office floor
plans (Michaelson, 2014).

Picture Bank of America Tower (New York City)

Bank of China Tower

The Bank of China Tower functions was designed for office purposes.

The structural expressionism adopted in the design of this

building resembles growing bamboo shoots, symbolising
livelihood and prosperity. The whole structure is supported by
the five steel columns at the corners of the building, with the
triangular frameworks transferring the weight of the structure
onto these five columns. It is covered with glass curtain
walls.While its distinctive look makes it one of Hong Kong's most identifiable landmarks
today, it was the source of some controversy at one time, as the bank is the only major building
in Hong Kong to have bypassed the convention of consulting with feng shui masters on matters
of design prior to construction (Ming Chung, 2002).

The building has been criticised by some practitioners of feng shui for its sharp edges and its
negative symbolism by the numerous 'X' shapes in its original design, though Pei modified the
design to some degree before construction following this feedback. The building's profile from
some angles resembles that of a meat cleaver. In Feng Shui, this is described as a cleaver
building (Ming Chung, 2002)

Aesthetically, the tower is said to look like sprouting bamboo shoots an appropriate symbol
of prosperity.

Both function of the building similar was designed for office purposes, the differences
between both of the building is about the design concept, Bank of America Tower (New
York City) was designed to set a new standard in high-performance buildings and advertised to
be one of the most efficient and ecologically friendly concept while Bank of China Tower use
bamboo and feng shui as their concept of the building.
COMPLEXITY OF THE PROJECT

Complexity both of the project are not similar, Bank of America Tower (New York City)
have an accident during construction that happen delayed
for completion on time that has been statisfied while Bank of
China Tower does not have any accident occurs during
construction, but the complexity of this project when the
sources limited to construct the building :-

Bank of America Tower (New York City)

Complexity of the project happen when during construction of Bank of America Tower (New
York City), materials fell from the building on two occasions which is :

August 12, 2008: A 1,500-pound (680 kg) glass panel fell onto a sidewalk. Two people
suffered minor injuries.

September 17, 2008: A debris container fell, shattered a panel of glass facade, and caused
several pieces of glass to fall from the 50th floor to the sidewalk and street (West 42nd and
Sixth Avenue) at around 3:00 pm. No one was injured (Chan, 2008).

Sidewalks and traffic around the new Bank of America Tower, diagonally across from
Bryant Park, were closed this afternoon after glass fell from the 50th floor of the
skyscraper at 1:55 p.m., according to police officials and eyewitnesses. It appeared that
no one was injured, although emergency medical workers treated a person who
apparently suffered a seizure at the scene. It was not clear if the seizure was related to
the falling glass; the man was not struck by the glass.

Police officers closed off the Avenue of the Americas between 42nd and 43rd Streets,
and diverted traffic to other north-south avenues. It was the latest in a series of
building-related accidents at the 54-story tower, at 1111 Avenue of the Americas, at the
northwest corner of the avenues intersection with 42nd Street. The building has been
described as one of the most environmentally sensitive modern structures to be built in
the city (Chan, 2008).
This incident led to the construction work is suspended for certain time to give time of
authorities to make an investigation. This incident cause project has been delayed for
completion on time that has been statisfied.

Bank of China Tower

The development of tall building construction has recently introduced a few innovations, which
allows buildings to be constructed in lower cost using improved analysis technique and by
using construction-led principle of design. The cost could be minimized by lowering
construction time, which decrease labour time on site and prefabrication of elements off-site.

In Hong Kong, Bank of China Tower there is a trend of constructing composite structures.
They are typically structures that use concrete core, steel composite floors and a steel concrete
composite frame. This is a reflection of the market conditions in Hong Kong which provide a
number of advantages such as the benefits on he speed for erecting floors and frames of
steelwork construction, the use of mature and highly efficient climbform and jumpform
construction techniques for reinforced concrete cores, the effective balance between the
demand on skilled (steelwork) and less skileed (reinforced concrete) labours, offering a good
balance between crane demand and the advances that have been made in concrete pumping
technology and allowing the structure to benefit from the recent development in high strenght
concrete.

The granite used in Hong Kong are suspected to have a limited strength potential. Therefore,
Hong Kong concretes have a lower modulus of elasticity and higher shrinkage characteristics
than those listed in material code. Commercial concrete mix design was largely on dry-batch
technology and empirical designs with little experience with low water to cement ratio and
super-plasticizer design. High strength concretes tend to have significant cracking in elevated
temperatures.
MAIN MATERIAL USED

Bank of America Tower (New York City)

Concrete manufactured with slag

The Bank of America tower is constructed using a concrete manufactured with slag, a
byproduct of blast furnaces. The mixture used in the tower concrete is 55% cement and 45%
slag. The use of slag cement reduces damage to the environment by decreasing the amount of
cement needed for the building, which in turn lowers the a mount of carbon dioxide greenhouse
gas produced through the normal cement manufacturing process. Each ton of regular cement
produced creates about one ton of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere .

Slag is the glass-like by-product left over after a desired

metal has been separated (i.e., smelted) from its raw ore.
Slag is usually a mixture of metaloxides and silicon
dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and
elemental metals. While slags are generally used to
remove waste in metal smelting, they can also serve other
purposes, such as assisting in the temperature control of
Slag heap in Clarkdale, Arizona,
showing how it was held back with the smelting, and minimizing any re-oxidation of the
corrugated sheets, and them
final liquid metal product before the molten metal is
rusting away and the striations
removed from the furnace and used to make solid metal
(Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park, 2007).

Glass

Control of the temperature of Bank of America's tower, and the production of some of its
energy, will be done in an environmentally-friendly manner. Insulating glass will reduce
thermal loss somewhat, which will lower energy consumption and increase transparency.
Carbon dioxide sensors will signal increased fresh air ventilation, when elevated levels of
carbon dioxide are detected in the building.
Bank of China Tower

The main structural elements are the vertical and horizontal steel members. Reinforced
concrete also plays a role.The entire building is
covered with silver-blue reflective glass framed in
aluminum. Such a skin not only reflects the
changing images of the sky and the city, but it also
absorbs sunlight so that energy consumption for
lighting and heating costs are reduced.

Steel-reinforced concrete

Bank of China Tower buildings are made of steel-

reinforced concrete. Tha advantage of using this material for construction is concrete, is a
material which can bear a very high pressure but is weak in bearing tension. We mix up these
two materials to form steel-reinforced concrete, which offsets one's weakness. The concrete in
steel-reinforced concrete can bear pressure while the steel lines can bear tension. In addition, it
is ch eaper than steel bars. It not only can apply directly in the working place, but also can be
made into components for combination in advance. It is convenient and has a good flexibility
(M. Ali & Sun Moon, 2007).

Glass and aluminium

The building consists of four triangular towers of glass and aluminum, all of varying heights,
emerging from a triumphal podium of beautiful granite. Geometric changes that occur as the
building rises into the sky are the most intriguing aspect of the tower. The sharp angles and
points of interest make an appearance - a contrast with flat architecture that dominates the city -
silver reflective glass used in the tower creates items that reflect the light on sunny days and at
night, when Hong Kong is radiant with all kinds of artificial light (M. Ali & Sun Moon, 2007).

Concept

Graceful, concise and structurally expressive.

Its triangular structure of glass and aluminum evokes shoots of bamboo leaves, which
represent prosperity in China and the sustenance of life.
Bank of China Tower is composed of triangular sections with triangular frames and is
reminiscent of crystalline growth and structure. The glass facets of the building reflect
the light and the surroundings, so it is like a bright and shiny white crystal, while the
Sear Tower appears dark and brooding.
USABLE FLOOR AREA VS CIRCULATION AREA

Bank of America Tower (New York City)

Bank of China Tower