Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has released the first design details for Catalinas Rio, a waterfront office building in Buenos Aires’ Catalinas Norte business district expansion that comprises retail, public greenspace, and two intertwined trapezoidal towers.
The two towers, one that rises 29 stories and another that rises 22, are connected by a series of skybridges and green terraces. The towers and bridge floors create an urban window meant to establish the active heart of the office experience. Large, landscaped decks cross both bridge roofs and are complemented by recessed balconies in the tower floors to provide views of both the waterfront and cityscape. In total, the terraces offer 10,000 sm of outdoor space.
Catalinas Rio is meant to create a new urban identity in the Catalinas Norte II master plan with the building’s public space playing the most important role in accomplishing this task. The outdoor urban square draws inspiration from the open spaces that characterize Buenos Aires’ historic fabric. The square connects to the street, waterfront, and every part of the building. It is located between the two tower forms and lobbies, where indoor retail and shared amenities on both sides are designed to form a cluster of activity.
See Also: A new performance venue completes in one of the world’s densest cities
“The building itself is conceived as a vertical campus,” said SOM Director Kim Van Holsbeke, in a release. “It is a single structure that continues the vibrancy of the urban square up to the office floors.”
Vertical fins, horizontal shades, and light shelves help bring light deep inside the building. An enhanced fresh air filtration system and access to water fountains throughout the building complement the daylighting to provide users with a healthy indoor work environment.
SOM also hopes to create a pedestrian bridge that would stretch over nearby rail lines, highways, and the Rio de la Plata to connect to the public river promenade, a nearby ferry terminal, and Puerto Madero, – a mixed-use neighborhood across from Catalinas Norte II.
Construction is slated for completion in 2022.
Related Stories
| Feb 13, 2014
Related Companies, LargaVista partner to develop mixed-use tower in SoHo
The site is located at the gateway to the booming SoHo retail market, where Class A office space is scarce yet highly in demand.
| Feb 5, 2014
Extreme conversion: Atlanta turns high-rise office building into high school
Formerly occupied by IBM, the 11-story Lakeside building is the new home for North Atlanta High School.
| Jan 29, 2014
Notre Dame to expand football stadium in largest project in school history
The $400 million Campus Crossroads Project will add more than 750,000 sf of academic, student life, and athletic space in three new buildings attached to the school's iconic football stadium.
| Jun 4, 2013
SOM research project examines viability of timber-framed skyscraper
In a report released today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill discussed the results of the Timber Tower Research Project: an examination of whether a viable 400-ft, 42-story building could be created with timber framing. The structural type could reduce the carbon footprint of tall buildings by up to 75%.
| Apr 30, 2013
First look: North America's tallest wooden building
The Wood Innovation Design Center (WIDC), Prince George, British Columbia, will exhibit wood as a sustainable building material widely availablearound the globe, and aims to improve the local lumber economy while standing as a testament to new construction possibilities.
| Mar 3, 2013
Hines acquires Archstone's interest in $700 million CityCenterDC project
The Washington D.C. office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced the acquisition of the ownership interest of their partner, Archstone, in the mixed-use CityCenterDC project that is currently under construction in downtown Washington, D.C.
| Feb 17, 2013
Pakistan to get world's tallest tower in $45 billion deal
Newly signed mega deal will fund construction of several massive developments in Karachi, including a mixed-use tower that will dwarf the Burj Khalifa.
| Jul 12, 2012
EE&K and Knutson Construction selected for the Interchange in Minneapolis
Design-build contract for $79.3 million transportation hub will connect transit with culture.
| Jul 2, 2012
Bernards building mixed-use project in Beverly Hills
The project includes 88 luxury apartment homes atop a 14,000-sf Trader Joe’s market and a new coffee shop.
