Page 75 - Vertical City

ARCHITECTURE OF TOWERS 75

It allows for transversal ventilation. Air currents,
which are stronger the higher the building, are much
appreciated.

Large terraces filled with luxuriant vegetation
prolong the interior space.

The length of day varies little, and the seasons are
similar, thus life goes on at more or less the same pace
during the entire year.

This plan enables design of transversal, efficient,
agreeable and economical apartments. Thanks to the
limited projected shadow and the air drafts at the base,
this type of building is welcome in its environment.

It is not surprising that this type of building which
made its apparition from 1960 on was highly sought
after and that its rhythm of construction accelerates
with reduction of the costs due to new technologies.

Although generally lower than 30 stories (with the
exception of Hong Kong), higher buildings are now
common in those latitudes because they allow for a
greater density of population.

It is judicious to perforate their long and high facades
in various places and on various levels along the entire
depth of the construction. These spaces, carved out
from the volume of the building, are in scale with its sil-
houette and make it more permeable to the wind. Light
rebounds on these hanging gardens and public areas to
form as many meeting places as wished. They illuminate
the vertical circulation streets in which elevators and
staircases are housed.