Taichung Echo Wind Tower by OFF Architecture

We've received quite a lot of publication requests of entries to the highly popular Taiwan Conceptual Tower International Competition, so here's another one: Paris-based studio OFF Architecture have shared with us their tower concept "Taichung Echo Wind Tower - An Expressive Green Tower".

Project Description:

Overseeing the Taichung basin, the Taiwan Tower is the observatory of the central Taiwan ecosystem ranging from the Central Mountain Range to the South China sea.

The tower’s envelope is composed of 2 million suspended thin metal leaves that tilt up against the wind which operates 64 internal helicoidal wind turbines generating enough energy to make the building fully sustainable.

The facade shows patterns of air flows as a monumental expression of the natural context and its immediate climatic conditions. Its skin symbolizes the cohesion of the surrounding habitat while the evolving winds provide transformations of its form.

The tower rises 350 meters high at a 2 degree inclination. This slight obliquity allows the metal leaves’ polished surfaces to reflect Taichung to itself. Approaching visitors seize in these reflections their city at different scales and from contrasting viewpoints. At night, the tower turns into a 2 million pixel LED vertical screen with infinite possibilities to provide dynamic digital visuals. An isostatic tripod emerges from within the reservoir comprising of a lobby, an office block and a singular mirrored shape. The tower floats above ground fitted on top of the tripod.

The Museum of the Taichung City Development is suspended under the tripod and exhibits a model of the Taichung metropolis composed of key historical urban fragments, architectural landmarks and views ofthe city-scape. It hosts group and individual educational programs about the city, its achievements and digital projections on the sky scrapping screen. The achieved technology acts not only as a monumental object but functions as an instrument to promote cultural ventures and moreover democracy.

The archetypal perspective is flipped into a new contemporary view of space organization illustrated by the array of a visitor’s viewpoints. The tower strongly displays in its design the vibrance ofthe Taiwanese democratic identity and echoes the technological proficiency that supports its conscious and sustainable urban development of the central metropolis within the central taiwanese ecosystem.

Preliminary Cost Estimation:

Para-sismeic steel structure: 38.5M$
Facade skin (~ 40,000 sqm): 15.0M$
Observatory & monitoring station (~ 2,000 sqm): 5.0M$
4 High speed lifts: 3.0M$
Museum & office buildings (~ 8,000 sqm): 35.0M$
Landscape (~ 40,000 sqm): 2.0M$
64 Wind turbines (1=30,000$)

Total: 98.5M$
 

 

See many more renderings and plans of the Taichung Echo Wind Tower in the image gallery below: