THE GRADIENTOWER

THE GRADIENTOWER

Urban Reflection

The Shenzhen's municipality decide to implement a low-rise area with a new Masterplan of towers. This area is surrounded by mid-rise residential towers.

Within the Masterplan the eastern area is destined for office towers whereas the western one is for mixed use buildings.

The idea is to create a functional-stuck tower with houses on the lower part responding to the height of the surrounding buildings and on the higher offices according to the planned ones.

Since the modernist time the architectural market is asking for galzed towers all around the World, but this is not sustainable anymore so we decided to do not skip the market demand but to find a way to be vernacular and green.

To emphasize the quality of both spaces the glass of the building moves. It is sent back for the houses in order to create deep balconies all around the apartments that provide shades during the hot summer and a lovely outdoor space in the other periods of the year, a real extension of the indoor.

In the office part the glass is offsetted out in order to create a double-layered ventilated facade that provide a better thermal insulation. This also allows to have a better control of the quality of the light into the building.

Concept Diagrams

Pointing the sky

Silhouette

In to Out

Typical House Floorplan

Typical Office Floorplan

Concept Axo

Architect: ITA
Type: Competition 
Location: Shenzhen, China

Year: 2017 

DOUBLE UP

DOUBLE UP

View from the plaza

The buildings of a university create a big courtyard around a square. The headmaster and the council want a new building that will contain new technologies.

The intention of the professors’ council is to make a new typology of school in which students are owner of their time and their project.

At the center of the courtyard there was an old warehouse, that will be removed to make space at the new building. To maximize the area of the plaza and to have a covered space the volume is lifted up in order to allow a total use of the plaza without obstacle in the middle.

The two bumps have two functions: first is to support the volume and second to create a 2.0 urban’s playground where people can stay and play. One bump is a green hill in which people can sit and enjoy the nature, the other one is a concrete pixelate hill that works like a urban auditorium for lectures or shows or like a “gym” for physical exercises.

The volume is articulated in two floors that contain free classrooms, conference rooms and one floor hosts a com­mon space in which the students can share their works with others and talking about their projects freely.

The building is characterized by a milky glass that filters the light during the day and diffuses the interior light in night in order to result like a giant lamp.

The configuration of the building, and the plaza also, re­flects the wills of the client and to make possible that stu­dents can to decide how and where to spend their time and energies

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Concept diagrams

Event Night

Green hill

Xmas time

Plan

Architect: ITA
Type: Competition 
Location: USA

Year: 2017