Infected Tower
The term generic cities refers to urban areas that share similarities in their physical layout, architectural design and urban planning in general: a sense of uniformity, lacking the unique characteristics, cultural diversity and historical depth that distinguish them from each other. The photo shows the two Toyo Ito buildings located in Zona Franca, Barcelona – Spain. This is an area where ideas of economic innovation are tested, metropolitan development and environmental sustainability that take into account its location in the Llobregat delta and the need to preserve local natural assets . in the Llobregat delta and the need to preserve local natural assets.
The project consists of two distinct towers that engage in a subtle dialogue. Despite the clear contrast between the buildings in terms of form, there is a subtle but clear harmonious and complimentary relationship. The hotel tower is designed with an organic form and seems to change as you move around it. change as one moves around it.
The office tower complements and responds to the perceived torsion and movement of the hotel building. At first gl ance, appears to be a pure volume with a slightly recessed glass curtain wall slightly recessed from the floor slab. However, the red vertical core of the building, located at the edge of the ground floor, has an organic form and reflects the structure of the hotel tower, has an organic form and reflects the structure of the hotel tower.
Breaking the boundaries After analysing the reference , we saw that these holes in the façade holes in the façade create unity and differentiate it from the generic buildings. The holes are intended as a way of to get out of the limits of a typical normal building. With careful reflection on proportions, position and balance, points appear in the building. The reuse of each of them makes it a unique building with non-repetitive elements. This unique approach pushed us to give a purpose to these spaces that create spaces that create balconies where activities can be held.
Visual projection Firstly, after analysing the plans of the buildings and the difference in materials visible on the façade, we can interpret the red used for the façade as explaining the structure and location of the the structure and location of the core of both buildings: one located at the edge and the other in the centre.
Secondly, we took advantage of their organic shape and wanted to express them in a more representative visual way. In terms of form, we identified a tulip flower in two ways: the stem for the office building and a vase for the hotel. So, to give it a meaning, we decided to give it the following: The way it looks/grows “naked” with all of its characters for the hotel and the way it is “covered”/used when in a vase: barely visible stem. As the stem is the “core of the building”, we have decided to give it the same materiality as the building, extending it even to the most visible elements: the pavement disappears.
