Sun Tower

In Architecture

A second skin separates the formal demands of the surface from the pragmatic requirements of the body

Posted: Feb 24th, 2009 / Last Edited: Jun 1st, 2010 Print

Description

We were first able to experiment dramatically with a second skin, where we could separate the formal demands of the surface from the pragmatic requirements of the body, with the Sun Tower in Seoul, South Korea. The rigid constraints of a very constricted site, a generic program, and a requirement to maximize the zoning envelope posed a challenge to create a form liberated from the direct impact of these conditions. The fact that two property owners were in dispute provided the departure point, a duality expressed by severing the building vertically. Separating the towers generated a wedge-shaped volume that would serve as an entry point, provide for greater interaction with the street, and allow for more fluid visual proportions. In addition, inserting a compressed, ad hoc public space in the single mass signaled the resolution of the scheme, whereby a translucent membrane of perforated aluminum enfolded the volume of the building. Inspired by the forms and materials distinct to Korean origami and by the garment design of our client, this exterior “fabric” produces optical effects that constantly shift with the play of sun across it. At the peak of day it is a reflective place; at night, illuminated from the interior, it acts as an oversized urban billboard and shadow play. At once brise-soleil, enclosure, and lyrical abstraction, the surface perpetually transforms, oscillating between translucency and opacity, until the building itself appears dematerialized. Additionally, this exterior membrane reinterprets city setback constraints, wrapping and folding its way up the height of the tower and ultimately enclosing a penthouse with a set of three-story trusses that contains mechanical space and alludes to the top articulation of the traditional tower typology.
We were first able to experiment dramatically with a second skin, where we could separate the formal demands of the surface from the pragmatic requirements of the body, with the Sun Tower in Seoul, South Korea. The rigid constraints of a very constricted site, a generic program, and a requirement to maximize the zoning envelope posed a challenge to create a form liberated from the direct impact of these conditions. The fact that two property owners were in dispute provided the departure point, a duality expressed by severing the building vertically. Separating the towers generated a wedge-shaped volume that would serve as an entry point, provide for greater interaction with the street, and allow for more fluid visual proportions. In addition, inserting a compressed, ad hoc public space in the single mass signaled the resolution of the scheme, whereby a translucent membrane of perforated aluminum enfolded the volume of the building. Inspired by the forms and materials distinct to Korean origami and by the garment design of our client, this exterior “fabric” produces optical effects that constantly shift with the play of sun across it. At the peak of day it is a reflective place; at night, illuminated from the interior, it acts as an oversized urban billboard and shadow play. At once brise-soleil, enclosure, and lyrical abstraction, the surface perpetually transforms, oscillating between translucency and opacity, until the building itself appears dematerialized. Additionally, this exterior membrane reinterprets city setback constraints, wrapping and folding its way up the height of the tower and ultimately enclosing a penthouse with a set of three-story trusses that contains mechanical space and alludes to the top articulation of the traditional tower typology.

Less -

Images

View All →

Drawings

View All →

Sustainability

High Performance Building Skin
With the Sun Tower, Morphosis began exploring high performance building skins as a means of reducing a building’s solar heat gain. The Sun Tower’s “second skin” of perforated aluminum wraps around the basic form of the building in origami like folds. This origami or cloth-like membrane acts as a "brise-soleil" for the building while adapting to different conditions of light on each façade.

Semi-transparent and semi-reflective sunscreen

Read More…
High Performance Building Skin
With the Sun Tower, Morphosis began exploring high performance building skins as a means of reducing a building’s solar heat gain. The Sun Tower’s “second skin” of perforated aluminum wraps around the basic form of the building in origami like folds. This origami or cloth-like membrane acts as a "brise-soleil" for the building while adapting to different conditions of light on each façade.

Semi-transparent and semi-reflective sunscreen

Sunscreen detail

Sunscreen detail

Sunscreen detail

Less -