Botanical Tower – Aurelia Li, Nu Long & Andrew Tang
Architecture concepts can be tricky to digest. On the one hand you have amazing ideas that ‘on paper’ seem like ultimate solutions through amazing building forms, but on the other hand, if you are like me and have experienced first hand the complications of a real building site, you feel that certain concepts are at best science fiction offering nothing more than some-one’s imagination.
There are of course those concepts which spark the imagination and feel like they could be built given the right amount of funding. Here is concept from Aurelia Li, Nu Long & Andrew Tang via the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat for a site in London that not only seems to be plausible, but also present an interesting direction for urban architecture.
This scheme aims to extend the Lea Valley ‘green corridor’ – a series of parks and wetlands that stretch northwards from the site, along the river Lea – into the sky, by embracing vertical greenery within a tall building. The design comprises of two slender residential wings, offset from each other to maximize key views to the east and west and to promote cross-ventilation. Traversing these wings is a series of green terraces, which zig-zag up the building, creating continuous vegetation linking the ground and the sky-bridges, allowing for the migration of plant species throughout the tower and Leamouth in general. Ramps, pathways and escalators provide a walkable green route up the tower, providing access to the high-level public skybridges and other facilities. The green terraces promote family living, providing social and community spaces along with special functions such as neighborhood farming, bulb gardens and a roof-top greenhouse. Vegetation is also embraced as a key part of the building’s aesthetic, a move away from the dull concrete and glass of many towers.
