Shigeru Ban covers Swatch headquarters in snaking timber vault www.dezeen.com

A double-curved timber shell constructed from 7,700 timber pieces forms the Swatch Headquarters by Shigeru Ban in Biel, Switzerland.
The timber gridshell – a double-curved gridded structure – contains the Swatch Headquarters, snaking across the street to connect to a five-storey building.
The 7,700 timber pieces forming the gridshell roof of the Swatch building were engineered with a precision of 0.1 millimetres.
Inside, a triple-height atrium leads to three storeys of office space sitting within this wooden shell.
A total of 2,800 facade elements in three varieties – opaque, transparent and translucent – cover the timber structure, controlling light levels and privacy throughout the interior.