From the onset, the design team called this project Crystal, and the name has stayed with the building. This solitaire, an extension of a financial institution at the threshold between the historic centre and the port, dominates the trapezoidal square it inhabits, yet, because it pays heed to the height of the existing buildings as well as visual relationships, is well integrated. The impression the sharp-edged, prismatic building massing makes varies significantly corresponding to the observer’s standpoint. The double-folded underside disengages the structure from the plaza’s surface, and, in combination with the parallel roof, defines the six vertical facade surfaces. Where the planes intersect, three high points and three low points come about: only at one point and one line does the form meet the ground. The structural system consists of criss-crossing steel sections running diagonally, with supplementary horizontal beams edging the ceiling decks. Together they form, directly behind the facade surface, a vertical lattice that acts as a diaphragm and directs the loads to just three supports. In combination with the two cores it supports the floor slabs and the roof structure.