Garden
Tower
Pratt Institute Graduate Architecture & Urban Design
As growing populations continue to move to urban centers, finding moments of relief among vegetated spaces grows increasingly difficult and important. Architecture has begun to address this by moving parks into vertical realms growing with new buildings. Yet many major cities are disregarding this due to their climate.
The Garden Tower utilizes a careful study of annual wind conditions, solar exposure, and seasonal shifts to establish a continuous spiraling up an open double skin. As the planted space moves vertically around the building the specific flora shifts from one regional typology to another. This shift is dictated by a study of which types of regional vegetation would thrive in those particular locations based upon solar and wind exposure, as well as seasonal temperatures. This tower dually serves to house its residents, and provides year-round access to vegetation from every climate region.
Year: Autumn 2017
Site: Brooklyn, New York
Program: High Density Residential Housing
Mentors: Carlos Arnaiz | Christina Ostermier