Description
The inspiration for this tower (the original plan envisioned two towers, hence the name “Torres Blancas,” plural) was to create a vertical garden city that grows toward the sky like a tree. Cantilevered semicircular terraces envelope the building – like leaves on the branches of a tree. They provide shelter from the sun and noise and are the size of small gardens which can be extensively planted. It is through this green filter that the interiors communicate with the exterior space.
The organic structure is continued on the inside of the units and determines the complex spatial construct: the geometry of the concrete structure, the layout of the access zones, as well as the internal organization of the apartments.
A generous access area comprising an atrium, open and enclosed stairs, and cylindrical elevators provide access to four i.e. eight apartments per floor. The massive support columns with long-span ceilings make it possible to stack units with very different plans from floor to floor. Spacious open living spaces along the terraces are intentionally undefined to provide users with the utmost flexibility.
A two-story common area on the roof, which originally accommodated a pool, bar, and restaurant, now houses offices.
Drawings
Floor plan diagram, scale 1:500
Ground floor: lobby, scale 1:500
Total floor plan, 6th and 12th floors, scale 1:500
Total floor plans, 8th – 10th/20th – 22nd floors, scale 1:500
Public and communal spaces in attic stories, scale 1:500
Total floor plan of 7th and 13th floor, scale 1:200
Section of attic stories, scale 1:500
Photos
Exterior view
Close-up of façade, stacked round balconies
Originally published in: Oliver Heckmann, Friederike Schneider (eds.), Floor Plan Manual Housing, fourth revised and expanded edition, Birkhäuser, 2011.