Designs by Italian architect Stefano Boeri for a verdant mixed-use tower have been given the green light by officials in Lausanne, Switzerland, Gizmag reports.
Office spaces, luxury apartments, and a 53,819-sf retail center will comprise the 36-floor structure, which renderings depict as a tower stacked Jenga style with white rectangular units and patches of green trees and shrubbery strewn throughout.
Dubbed La Tour des Cedres (or Cedar Trees Tower), the architect says the green design will be boosted by other sustainable technology, such as solar power and rainwater collection. Among the plants will be 100 of the tower’s namesake plant, cedar trees, 6,000 shrubs, and 18,000 other plants, most of them native to the area. Together, the plants will make up more than 32,200 sf of greenery.
The cantilevered concrete planters and loggia are being engineered by BuroHappold “as prefabricated units that connect directly to the tower’s reinforced concrete frame,” Gizmag reports.
But green architecture writer and critic Lloyd Alter of TreeHugger argues that the amount of reinforced concrete needed to accomplish Boeri’s design may cancel out all the other conservation and sustainability endeavors of the building.
“Trees, and the soil they need to survive and grow, are heavy, and it takes a lot of reinforced concrete to support them on these cantilevered balconies. Concrete is responsible for 5 to 7 percent of the carbon dioxide we produce, so the responsible and sustainable thing is to use less of it,” Alter writes. “Without an analysis of how much concrete is needed to support these trees, [versus] how much CO2 the trees absorb, you can't call this sustainable design.”
According to DesignBoom, La Tour des Cedres is due to begin construction in 2017.
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Dec 23, 2015
'Tree-covered mountains' planned for urban Shanghai
Heatherwick Studio unveiled a 300,000-sm mixed-use project in the Chinese city’s main arts district.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 7, 2015
BIG designs lush, terraced mixed-use building in Sweden
Cascading glass and wooden cubes create a form similar to Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway rock formation.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 1, 2015
Wiel Arets unveils twin, 558-foot mixed-use towers in Bahrain’s capital
The development, Bahrain Bay Tower, will consist of two residential towers connected “by a plinth of retail, office, parking, and public park space.”
Cultural Facilities | Sep 24, 2015
Bakpak Architects' 'pottery courtyard' concept in Poland incorporates local heritage
The multifunctional building proposed for Rzeszow, Poland, looks like it was handcrafted on a potter’s wheel.
Mixed-Use | Aug 26, 2015
Innovation districts + tech clusters: How the ‘open innovation’ era is revitalizing urban cores
In the race for highly coveted tech companies and startups, cities, institutions, and developers are teaming to form innovation hot pockets.
High-rise Construction | Aug 7, 2015
Tribute tower to cricket world champs will be Sri Lanka’s tallest
The 1996 Iconic Tower will be a tribute to the country’s cricket team, which won the World Cup in 1996.
High-rise Construction | Aug 4, 2015
Construction of Vietnam’s tallest building commences in Ho Chi Minh City
A 1,509-foot skyscraper broke ground on the banks of the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
High-rise Construction | Jul 29, 2015
Jerusalem to get a high-rise pyramid by Daniel Libeskind
Are pyramids making a comeback? The city of Paris recently approved a triangle-shaped building that stirred controversy from residents. Now, the city of Jerusalem gave Libeskind's pyramid tower the go-ahead.
Mixed-Use | Jul 22, 2015
Despite China's 'ghost cities,' the country continues construction boom
Cities continue to spring up in the heart of China. Designed to accommodate millions, many are still nearly empty.
High-rise Construction | Jul 13, 2015
Herzog & de Meuron’s triangle tower stirs controversy in Paris
The 590-foot glass pyramid building will include a 120-room hotel, 754,000 sf of office space, and cultural facilities.
