When architects Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill design a new
building, people tend to pay attention. With projects like the Burj Khalifa and
Kingdom Tower under their belt, the firm is one of the world's leading
skyscraper designers. So naturally, we perked up today when AS + GG unveiled
Dancing Dragons, a pair of striking supertall skyscrapers that will reshape the
skyline of Seoul, South Korea. Inspired by mythical Korean dragons, the 88- and
77-story towers feature a breathable scale-like skin through which air can
circulate.
We get the dragon part, but what about the dancing? “There’s
a sympathetic and complementary relationship between the two masses at the
level of the cuts, almost as though they were dancing,” explains Adrian Smith
in a press release.
With operable 600-mm vents through which air can circulate,
the towers’ scale-like skin is actually a performative element that will be
used for ventilation. The design team also includes Chicago-based energy and
engineering firm PositivEnergy Practice, which is providing consulting on the
two towers’ energy-efficient systems. Some of the green features will include
photovoltaic arrays on the roof surfaces, radiant heating, fuel-cell
cogeneration units at the basement level,
and triple-glazed windows to minimize heat loss.
The angular, mixed-use skyscrapers will be located in
Seoul’s Yongsan International Business District, and they will be part of the
larger Yongsan master plan by Studio Daniel Libeskind. The 450- and
390-meter-tall towers will include residential, “officetel” and retail
elements. V-shaped massing cuts at the top and bottom of the mini-towers help
reinforce the buildings’ angular geometry, and the cuts are arranged in a
radial pattern that can be seen as viewers at ground level move around the
towers. According to Smith + Gill, those massing cuts are meant to echo the
eaves of traditional Korean temples.
Courtesy: inhabitat
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