Page 77 - Vertical City
P. 77
ARCHITECTURE OF TOWERS 77
The terraces must be protected from air currents
and situated in such a manner so as their projected
shadow does not disturb neighboring apartments. They
must be as large as possible to provide living space,
eventually with vegetation, in the summer, and must
provide an agreeable view in winter.
Duplex apartments enable, in this manner, double
high terraces and walls of vegetation 8 or of photovoltaic
panels.
My small 22-story tower (aboveground) on the
banks of the Leie River in Kortrijk (Belgium), whose
construction is planned to begin early in 2015, illustrates
this [figures 23, 24 and 25].
Its rectangular plan presents north and south façades
of 16,2 m in width, for east and west facades of 29,8 m in
length. It includes a central and narrow circulation core.
The large terraces of 3,6 × 3,6 m alternately disposed
floor by floor in the axis of the gables and at the corners
of the tower are superposed every two stories.
Large screens and barriers in 50% perforated
stainless steel sheets ensure transparency and protec-
tion from the wind while acting as the supporting struc-
ture.
8 Climbing plants have always invaded vertical walls. Many of them
require very little soil, as, for example, the Polygonum in our region.
While we attempt to control them on our constructions, they are
a real nuisance in the tropics, destroying the most robust construc-
tions in their growth. It is, thus, not necessary to develop sophisti-
cated techniques such as plumbing devices, fertilizers or specially
treated surfaces to grow tropical plants on our facades, our indigen-
ous plants offer enough possibilities.
