Lassa Architects

This competition entry combines a landmark tower and commercial centre in a way that is conscious of its urban context and sensitive to pedestrians at the human scale. A project like this would typically merge the tower and the plinth, but here, they are detached. The resultant space in between the two volumes materialises as a vibrant public corridor, a street condition that connects the project to the nearby harbour. Its location on the corner of the street cements its role as an anchoring point within its context. The design of the tower facade has been considered visually, environmentally and economically.

There is a system of louvres that provide both privacy and solar shading for people inside, but the depth of these louvres vary, creating variable translucency. In this way the tower can visually de-materialise as it touches the sky. Despite its overall complex form, the project is economised through the rationalisation of its vertical facade members and the rationalisation of the curved facades into flat panels.