Floating Tower Concept

The Floating Tower introduces a visionary concept for a new Korean office tower typology, prioritizing placemaking, public space and enhancing the urban experience. It creatively utilizes elevated lobby spaces and a sunken event plaza to optimize land usage, providing clear open views at street level and connecting seamlessly with the urban context. A porous street level, to enhance people flow, inviting public areas and a lower-level courtyard. The addition of a sunken flagship retail plaza  establishes a dynamic cultural hub, that can double up as an event space, while an urban park above creates a refreshing green oasis at street level, promoting a healthier and sustainable urban lifestyle.

Concept for Placemaking and Urban Intervention

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The Floating Tower is a visionary project centred around creating engaging public and semi-public spaces within the tower's lobby base. These spaces will be seamlessly connected to the integrated lower level lobby and courtyard, fostering a lively and inviting environment. The aim is to attract visitors and offer a dynamic mix of activities, enhancing their overall experience from the very moment they step into the tower.

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In order to optimize land usage and views through, we propose elevating the tower lobby. By doing so, we not only create a sense of openness underneath the tower but also provide unobstructed panoramic views for enhance pedestrian flow and public engagement at a key intersection within the city. This elevated lobby design enhances connectivity for the urban context and creates an interesting new way into the tower entrance lobby via urban travelators. The lobby suspended three storey’s over a new sunken plaza, accentuates the volume of space created below the floating tower, in an innovative approach to urban architecture and a new vision for the way tower buildings connect at street level, ultimately enhancing the human experience rather than blocking the ground plane. Structural columns and core land into the space as a key feature enhancing the public plaza experience,  alongside other mixed-uses built into and under the sidewalks above, enhancing the lower courtyard experience.

An Urban Event Space as Cultural Destination

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The Sunken Flagship Retail Plaza is designed to optimize the tower's height despite limited space constraints. By creating a sunken area on the ground plane, we enhance urban connectivity and establish a vibrant cultural destination. This unique design approach allows us to accommodate flagship retail spaces while maintaining a harmonious blend of architectural and urban elements.

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An Urban Event Space that serves as a dynamic cultural destination. This versatile area is designed to host various events and gatherings, attracting both locals and tourists alike. By incorporating elements that encourage community engagement and cultural activities, we aim to create a practical and appealing space that adds value to the urban landscape.

Urban Park

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The addition of an Urban Park at street level brings a refreshing green space to the area, greatly enhancing the ground plane experience, looking over and into the sunken plaza and weaving through and under the base of the tower. To accommodate this, the tower is elevated by 3-5 floors, creating ample room for a public open space with beautifully landscaped areas on the lower levels.

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In this practical design, the Urban Park serves as a welcoming oasis within the urban environment, offering visitors a place to relax, socialize, and connect with nature. The elevated tower not only allows for the creation of the park but also provides unobstructed views from within the tower, making it a desirable and harmonious addition to the surrounding cityscape. The integration of greenery and outdoor amenities promotes a healthier and more sustainable urban living experience for all.