When Kevin Cook of Hospitality & Leisure Asia was tasked with designing a new headquarters for IBT, the overriding goal was to change the traditional image of a financial institution to a more elegant, artistic look while still reflecting strength and prosperity. The new IBT headquarters features a globe shape with retreating layers of balconies on two sides, allowing access to sunlight and a view of the city from every floor. Sloping in elegant curves, the marble outer walls of the first and second floors and the reflective fiberglass walls from the third floor up give the IBT headquarters a jeweled, crown-like appearance that demonstrates both royalty and power.

 

Yao recommended a Lutron light control system based on his many positive working experiences with Lutron products. After a series of demonstrations, the bank’s senior management was impressed by the advantages, effects, and convenience of the Lutron light control and shade systems and was convinced that Lutron could meet their high expectations. The building features a multi-function auditorium, an art gallery, and a saloon along with conference rooms, a boardroom, and executive offices on various floors that would all require lighting and shade systems. Lutron worked closely with Yao, Litenet – the lighting control contractor – the building’s designer, and IBT’s management staff to install its HomeWorks system in the first floor lobby, the third floor concert hall, the eleventh floor President’s and GM’s offices and the conference room, and the twelfth floor ballroom, small concert hall and boardroom. GRAFIK Eye preset lighting control system was installed in guestrooms and lift lobbies on the eleventh and twelfth floors. Lutron Sivoia QED window shade system (amounting to 99 rollers in total) was used in all rooms on the eleventh and twelfth floors and was integrated with light control systems for daylight and electric light. In all, the IBT building has a total of 214 control zones and over 100 scenes for different light and shade settings – all managed by the Lutron solution.

 

“The Lutron Sivoia QED shading system is extremely quiet and doesn’t disturb any ongoing activities as the roller shades move in unison across multiple windows in the work areas. The energy savings we are enjoying from keeping the ambient temperature down by blocking the hottest direct sunlight is a major plus,” said Lin. This shading system was integrated with the HomeWorks system with built-in astronomical timeclock. The timeclock automates changes in light and shade levels according to time schedule in order to maintain a comfortable working environment throughout the day. “It was very impressive and required very little care once configured,” added Lin.

 

“We are also impressed by the power-failure memory feature of the HomeWorks system,” added Lin. “If power is interrupted and restored, lights will automatically return to their prior levels, and the system programming is retained in non-volatile memory and is not affected by the loss of power."