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NO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China

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One of the great ironies of modern urban life is the underlying disconnect that exists amongst us global citizens, despite living and functioning within such dense and close proximities. In order to address this issue in the context of China’s urban landscape, New York firm NO ARCHITECTURE has proposed two alternatives to the typical high-rise – two vertical residential typologies that feature a combination of courtyards, terraces, and gardens, and could be located in a wide variety of cities.

“Conceived around a series of cascading shared walls, ventilated courtyards, stepped terraces, and wind towers, these new vertical organizations re-connect urban living to nature, suggesting how we can live in close proximity today and can continue to do so sustainably for generations to come,” explained the architects.

NO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China - CityscapeNO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China - CityscapeNO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China - Windows, Facade, CityscapeNO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China - CityscapeNO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China - More Images+ 2

NO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China - Cityscape
© NO ARCHITECTURE

The project bases its strategies on various sustainable practices found within a number of cultures, climates, and contexts, which give rise to the aforementioned typologies and respond to specific sites and conditions. A hot-humid climate, for example, would be addressed by the open courtyards and wind towers that give the tower its form, while the stepped terraces and shared walls are designed for hot-arid conditions.

NO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China - Cityscape
© NO ARCHITECTURE

Each apartment’s floor plate is increased 30% to also include its own garden, providing natural ventilation, passive heating, and cooling that also function at the scale of the tower, when treating the gardens as a collective whole.

NO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China - Cityscape
© NO ARCHITECTURE

On the interior, spaces lack separation and compartmentalisation, thus increasing available space by an additional 30% and creating constantly occupied areas during the days, which are used for sleeping at night. Centered around service cores with bathrooms and storage, the inside of the towers can be experienced as a flexible continuous flow or individual rooms based on the dispersed cores.

News via: NO ARCHITECTURE.

  • Architects

  • Design Team

    Dana AlMathkoor, Andrew Heid, Li Jin, Naifei Liu, Gaby San Roman Bustinza, Trendelina Salihu
  • Area

    9000.0 m2
  • Project Year

    2017
  • Photographs

    NO ARCHITECTURE
  • Architects

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Cite: Osman Bari. "NO ARCHITECTURE Emphasizes Urban Sustainability and Interaction with Alternative Residential Towers in China" 15 Apr 2017. ArchDaily. Accessed 2 Mar 2025. <https://www.archdaily.com/869108/no-architecture-emphasizes-urban-sustainability-and-interaction-with-alternative-residential-towers-in-china> ISSN 0719-8884

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