Torre Reforma in
Mexico
This
804-foot-high tower, which is known as Torre Reforma, was developed by
Fondo Hexa S.A. de C.V., and designed by LBSRA Architects.
With its stark,
brutalist, unfinished look, this tower exudes mystery and boldness. In
her lengthy essay on the building in the 2017 Issue 1 of the CTBUH
Journal, Juliete Roy, the project manager of LBSRA Architects, provides
the following commentary:
"Torre Reforma is not only the tallest building in Mexico City, but is
also representative of innovation and leadership in the high-rise
building industry, which has begun a shift away from a generation of
all-glass facades. Here, high seismic conditions and the presence
of a historic building on the site resulted in a highly distinctive
hybrid 'open-book' form, comprising two exposed concrete shear
walls and floor plates enclosed in a dramatically cantilevered steel
diagrid....Diverging from the standoffish-icon model for skyscrapers,
Torre Reforma embraces its surroundings. The existing historic
house on the site was integrated, becoming part of the main
lobby....The commercial areas of the ground floor and the first
basement allow for street activity to flow into the building.
Torre Reforma is partly
cantilevered over historic building that was moved during construction
"Reflecting
an understanding
that a skyscraper is a vertical continuation of the city, the building
has an array of services that includes sporting facilities, open spaces
and terraces, bars and restaurants, gardens, an auditorium, and common
meeting rooms...."
Facade details
"On
Level 3, the glass facade
systems opens up to a dramatic outdoor sky lobby space. The
triple-height sky lobby offers unobstructed views of the surrounding
city and nearby Chapultepec Park....The building has an eight-level
underground parking ramp for 600 cars, accompanied by two robotic
parking buildings for 400 cars in the back of the main tower...."
The council's book notes that "openings in the shear walls - designed
to allow the walls to bend under seismic activity - also provide
natural light for the garden and office spaces within."
White Walls in Nicosia,
Cyprus
This
228-foot-high tower was developed by Nice Day Developments Ltd., and
designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel. It has 10 floors of apartments,
six floors of offices and two floors of retail.
Rear Facade of White
Walls in Nicosia
The council's book provides the
following commentary:
"Punctuated by a seemingly random
array of openings - sometimes glazed,
sometimes left open - the massiveness of the tower's walls is negated
by numerous square perforations. Interesting shadow play
determines
how exterior and interior spaces are perceived in relation to varying
sun positions throughout the day. At night, the 0.4-meter by
0.4-meter...voids and windows are randomly illuminated, as determined
by interior lighting conditions....Every unit in the building features an
indoor/outdoor loggia that extends the living space outside to take
advantage of Nicosia's temperate climate and acknowledge the importance
within the local culture of spending time outside."
The building was declared the
"winner" of Best Tall Building Europe.
Jiangxi Nanchang
Greenland Central Plaza in China
The
994-foot-high Jiangxi Nanchang Greenland Central Plaza complex was
developed by the Greenland Group and designed by Skidmore, Owings &
Merrill LLP. The twin towers are located blocks from the Ganjiang River
and as the towers rise the floor plate is rotated 45 degrees and the
rounded corners become more pronounced. The crowns were sculpted
and clad with operable glass louvers, opening to allow prevailing winds
to pass through.
Shanghai Tower, right,
and the Jin Mao Tower, left
The
2,073-foot-tall Shanghai Tower was developed by Shanghai Tower &
Development Corporation and designed by Gensler. At the time of
its completion, it was the second tallest building in the world.
Like its shorter but nearby SuperTall, the very handsome, pagodaesque
Jin Mao Tower, it has numerous divisions as it ascends. "Twisting
toward the sky in a smooth yet pronounced gesture, the tower is
organized into nine vertical zones," the council's book declared,
adding that "the tower meets the ground with a six-level retail podium
that also offers a large meeting space" and the podium is "sheathed in
reflective gold paneling that signals its presence as the main entrance
into the tower." Oddly, the podium is rather garish and does not
relate contextually to the tower's glossy green sheen.
Tuned Mass Damper of
Shanghai Tower
The
tower's most apectacular feature is its tuned mass damper at its top
that looks like a second-generation "Bladerunner" alien egg dispensary
whose rhythmic striations are rather sexual
South Beach
Designed
by Foster & Partners, the two towers of the South Beach complex in
Singapore were developed by City Developments Limited and South Beach
Consortium. One tower is 45 stories high and the other is 35
stories and they face in opposite directions.
"The south tower is divided between a hotel and apartments," the
council's book notes, "while the north tower contains offices.
The exterior of both towers is defined by an environmental screen
surging from the lower canopy to mitigate the harsh Singaporan
sun....The slanted forms of the buildings are efficient in utilizing
the prevailing winds to direct air flow downwards....Evocative of a
waterfall, the towers' gently curving facades act as a continuation of
the undulating marquee of the podium."
Hongkou SOHO in Shanghai
This
438-foot-high tower was developed by Shanghai Xusheng Property
Co., and designed by Kengo Juma and Associates. The book states
that the design team took an ordinary office tower and sheathed it "in
a veil that distorts the building's outer edges, appearing as a
furrowed shroud cast atop its mass," adding that "the tower is covered
wwith unique shading and 18-millimeter...white aluminum strips knitted
as a kind of 'lace net,' providing various facade expressions that
change with the sun angle."
Hongkou SOHO in Shanghai entrance
"In
contrast to the hard and cold image of conventional tall buildings, the
curved shading system, shaped as a triangule joint in plan and
gradually changing shape as it gains altitude, forms a constructed
element with rhythm and a facade with a topographical surface," the
book's commentary continued.
Alliance Tower in Milan
The
striking, 679-foot-high Allianz Tower in Milan was developed by
CityLife Sp.A. and designed by Andrea Maffei Architects and Arata
Isozaki Associates.
The book provides the following commentary:
"Also known as Il Ditto - 'The Straight One' in English - the tower
design lies in opposition to its high-rise neighbors, referred to as Lo
Storto - 'The Twisted One' - and Il Corvo - 'The Curved One.' The
nickname alludes to its neat, linear appearance more than 200 meters
high..., the structure lies within a 24-meter by 60 meter...footprint,
vertically extruded to produce a thin, rectangular tower that
emphasizes verticality. Modular in design, the building is
composed of eight, six-story segments. Each segment is apparent
on the building's exterior, defined by a convex, gently curving glass
facade...Three layers of glass provide good thermal insulation and
reduction of solar radiation....The stability of the whole system is
augmented with four steel buttresses located a quarter of the way up
the building....A viscous damper anchors each buttress to the ground in
order to reduce wind-induced horizontal accelerations...."
European Central Bank in Frankfurt
The very handsome, 603-foot-tall European Central Bank in Frankfurt was developed by the bank and designed by COOP Himmelblau. It combines its glass tower with a 1928, low-rise market hall building and a very striking angled and cantileverede connector building.
The council's book provides the following commentary:
"The defining feature of the tower is its large central atria, which
are formed through the sculptural fusion of two distinct tower volumes.
European Central Park atria
"This
complex geometry was derived by vertically dividing a monolithic block
through a hyberboloid cut, wedging two volumes apart, and twisting them
around to create interstitial atria space....Within each atrium,
interchange platforms and pedestrian bridges recall urban streets and
squares, while hanging gardens regulate interior temperature to create
a pleasant climate, inviting communal activity."
Skyville @ Dawson
A
"finalist" for the council's Urban Habitat Award, SkyVille@Dawson was
developed by the Housing & Development Board in Singapore and
designed by WOHA Architects. The handsome project has 960
apartments and has three towers angled on its site and each connected
by four skybridges.
Dr.
Cheong Koon Hean, the head of Singapore's Housing & Development
Boared, was named the winner of the council's Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime
Achievement Award. She was the first woman to head the Urban
Redevelopment Authority...,and "played a key role in the development of
major growth areas...In particular, she led the planning the new city
extension at Marina Bay, creating a signature skyline for Singapore and
a vibrant live-work-play destination." The book also stated that
"to raise design standards, she guided the development of many landmark
projects that have redefined Singapore's public housing from modest
construction to award-winning creations. These projects include
the 50-story Pinnacle@Duxton, SkyTerrace and SkyVille@Dawson.
A new "Performance" award was introduced this year by the council and
awarded to the 1999 Taipei 101 which is 1,667 feet tall and its design
C.Y. Lee & Partners is even more pagodaesque than the Jin Mao Tower
shown above.
