Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has revealed plans for a pair of eye-catching towers. Featuring a futuristic swooping glazed and metal design, the buildings will rise upwards from a shared base and provide views of a nearby volcano.
As its name suggests, the Napoli Porta Est Masterplan is slated for Naples, Italy. The project is the winner of an architecture competition and is focused around the towers, which will be constructed from concrete and steel, and have an unusual form with a long base that connects them and hosts greenery and a plaza.
We’ve no word on their expected height, though from the renders they look like decent-sized high-rise towers, however they certainly won’t be huge supertall skyscrapers. As mentioned, views of the surrounding landscape, including nearby volcano Mount Vesuvius, will be optimized, as will natural light.
“The envelope optimizes natural elements – light, wind and panoramic views – ensuring excellent thermal insulation, reducing solar load and glare, without compromising the spectacular views of the Gulf of Naples, Vesuvius and the surrounding hills,” says ZHA. “The facade design takes into account the movement of the sun throughout the day: north-facing openings are maximized to allow natural light to enter the buildings and enhance the views, while direct sun exposure is minimized on other facades of the buildings to reduce energy requirements.”
Felix Render
The larger masterplan will aim to revitalize an area of eastern Naples. It will repurpose over 30 hectares (74 acres) of abandoned industrial buildings, including a tobacco factory.
It will feature large green roof areas and a 7,000-sq-m (roughly 75,000-sq-ft) solar panel array, which will reduce grid-based power usage. Recycled water will be used for irrigation, reducing potable water usage by an estimated 60%. Some sort of geothermal energy will be used too, though this hasn’t been explained further yet.
We’ve no word yet on when this one is expected to be completed. It comes at a remarkably busy time for ZHA, joining other recent projects like the Shenzhen Institute of Financial Technology skyscraper and a station for Saudi Arabia’s driverless transit system.
Source: ZHA