On July 24, 2025, the 191st ZAK World Curtain Wall Conference was grandly held in Shanghai. As one of the most influential international conferences in the field of architectural curtain wall design and engineering, this conference focuses on "sustainable innovation" and delves into the key challenges faced by building envelope structures, bringing together top architects, developers, curtain wall consultants, and technical experts from around the world.
FORCITIS partner Angie Wang, as a guest speaker, discussed cutting-edge trends in building facades with peers in the curtain wall industry, leading manufacturers, and solution providers.
ZAK Conference: Innovation Benchmark for the Global Curtain Wall Industry
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ZAK World of Fa ? ades is a globally renowned high-end conference brand that has held over 180 conferences in 44 countries, attracting over 60000 professionals to participate.
As the third grand event hosted by China, this Shanghai station focuses on the breakthrough progress of building skin in the fields of energy, structure, and digitalization. The conference provides a technology collision and resource docking platform for the industry through more than 30 keynote speeches and roundtable dialogues.
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FORCITIS Speaks Out: Driving the Evolution of Building Surface Function
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“Functional skin is becoming an important direction for architectural transformation.”
FORCITIS partner Wang Yan pointed out in her speech on "Trends and Practice Cases in Architectural Surface Design" that "functional building surfaces are becoming a key direction for promoting the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry.
The curtain wall system is no longer just the 'shell' of a building, but has gradually evolved into a 'functional skin' that integrates energy production, structural optimization, and digital intelligence.
In this process, Chinese enterprises have grown from technology followers in the past to important forces leading global architectural technology innovation
In addition, she also shared representative practice cases of Foster in the field of sustainable architecture in recent years.
Through the integration of photovoltaic curtain walls, lightweight optimization of structures, and digital process control, Foster has provided full lifecycle carbon reduction solutions for multiple projects, promoting green building practices through technological innovation.
The mission of curtain walls is to achieve a balance between beauty, efficiency, and ecology in architecture.
The ZAK World Curtain Wall Conference is not only a global technological confrontation, but also a joint declaration about the future of architecture. Faced with the intersection of climate challenges and urbanization processes, curtain walls, as the "first interface" between buildings and the environment, are transforming from passive enclosure structures to actively empowering spatial media.
The building skin is no longer just the boundary of the structure, but a "multifunctional skin" that integrates production capacity, structure, and aesthetics. Foster will continue to use interdisciplinary innovation to promote the evolution of curtain walls from the "shell" of buildings to the "symbiotic skin" of cities, building a more resilient future space for humanity.
