The winning Sou Fujimoto concept features a tower that in essence is a "21st Century Oasis." The structural design is inspired by the Taiwanese Banyan tree and incorporates a roof-top garden that seems to float 300 meters above the ground. The tower will create a symbolic landmark for Taichung City, with the garden being visible from within a vast radius.The city council has yet to approve this.
The structure will adopt several green architecture initiatives by implementing a forest roof; rainwater harvesting; solar hot water panels; wind turbines; photovoltaic cells; a ground source heat pump; a desiccant air-handling unit and natural ventilation. Sou Fujimoto also hopes that these green strategies will be a significant contribution to acquiring the LEED Gold certification.
The superstructure of the tower will feature a series of steel columns, spiral beams and roof beams. The perimeter columns and intermediate columns will be positioned in various directions so that they can resist strong lateral winds and earthquakes.
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13 comments:
That building looks amazing. It would be great to have in Taichung and add to the city. Why grouse about it?
Parks, sewers, local government debt, schools.....all need money. it'd be nice, sure.
But you're right, i deleted it.
I don't understand this tower. Why is it so sparse? The mere fact that its density is so low yet its footprint is so large means that no matter what fancy technology it uses, it's not truly "green". Also, the larger overview shows absolutely no provision for sustainable urban development--where is the walkable retail or commercial area? Residential units so the area isn't dead at night?
Taiwan needs to stop building buildings and start shaping sustainable urban development. It's not about plopping one giant over-designed, expensive thing-a-ma-jig down somewhere. It's about putting down something that is the start of a larger transformation of the district and community.
I guess Taichung had to outdo Hualien's $100M rotating theater outside Taroko Gorge. Buildings like this are basically monuments politicians build to themselves, looking cool but not improving the neighborhoods where most people- especially poor people- work and live. They're also a lot easier to pull of than addressing real social and economic issues.
Where is Hu? I think the DPP needs to find him in time for the election.
Ah, Taiwan. Haven for disillusioned romantics adn the perpetually dissatisfied...There's a lot worse that could happen than getting a nifty looking building in your city.
Could resources be allocated more wisely? Sure. Look on the bright side. If it was the US, it would be some sterile suburban office park named after a temp service, or that money would be going towards drones dropping bombs on brown kids somewhere or handed to the Chase CEO.
ha... so true.
I see no conflict between complaining about both dropping bombs on brown kids AND pouring money into nifty-looking but not very useful buildings. When the best (only?) thing a public works project has going for it is that it's attractive, that makes me think the government has its priorities wrong.
Two to one you'll like the building when it's completed and enjoy going there :)
Always look on the bright....side of life.....woo, woo, woo woo woo woo woo
Haha. You're probably right. Surely there will be a complete photo shoot on these pages....
Michael
And this has nothing to do with James Song's election bid? Convenient timing, don't you think?
Man, I’d love to be the engineer on a project like this one. It’d be difficult.
There are a couple of things that bother me. Like the Tokyo Tower, it uses the height of the Eiffel Tower as a benchmark. Why the obsession? And while the green stuff is all cool, it kind of feels like the tower is being built just to create a need for them. None of the architectural press releases talk much about what the tower will actually be used for.
But I think it’d be great. Remember the discussion in your post about the Lonely Planet guide, about the total lack of tourist attractions in Taichung? Well, this would be a good start. Few would go to see this tower alone, but its existence would put nearby shops and restaurants on the map. It would also allow the city council to raise the bar for future buildings in the vicinity – existing buildings are always a benchmark for new ones.
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