BIG Unveils Award-Winning Green-Roofed Interlocking Cross # Towers for Seoul

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/big">BIG</a> just landed another major project - a cross-hatched interlocking tower at the <a href="http://www.dreamhub21.com/" target="_blank">Dreamhub</a> in Seoul, South Korea. To provide enough square footage for the project and meet building height requirements, part of the Cross # Towers building is turned it on its side to create interlocking bridges. These horizontal towers serve as the foundation for green-roofed sky gardens with dramatic views of the urban skyline. BIG has also designed the towers to optimize daylighting for better energy efficiency.

Cross # Towers is a residential housing project for the <a href="http://www.dreamhub21.com/" target="_blank">Yongsan International Business District (Dreamhub)</a> that consists of two towers - one is 214 meters tall and the other is 204 meters tall.

The project had to meet building height requirements, so extra mass is provided through two horizontal intersecting bars situated at heights of 70 meters and 140 meters.

These sky bridges are topped with green roof gardens that provide space for recreation and leisure.

The towers are also connected on the ground floor plane by a courtyard that connects to the rest of the downtown area.

The "#" form of the building ensures that it will serve as a dramatic landmark in the new Yongsan Business District.

The project includes the development of 600 high end residences along with amenities like a library, gallery space and a kindergarten.

Each apartment has access to the sky gardens as well as the sun and views.

The facades are developed to correspond to the different orientations and solar conditions, maximizing daylight and energy efficiency.

“The typical tower inherently removes life from the city it occupies. Circulation is linear and social interactions occur only in lobbies or awkward elevator rides. We propose a building that triples the amount of ground floor – triples the amount of social interaction and reintroduces the idea of neighborhood within the tower complex.”, Thomas Christoffersen, Partner in Charge, <a href="http://www.big.dk" target="_blank">BIG</a>.

“The Cross # Towers constitute a three-dimensional urban community of interlocking horizontal and vertical towers. Three public bridges connect two slender towers at different levels – underground, at the street and in the sky." Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG.

"Catering to the demands and desires of different residents, age groups and cultures the bridges are landscaped and equipped for a variety of activities traditionally restricted to the ground."

"The resultant volume forms a distinct figure on the new skyline of Seoul – a “#” that serves as a gateway to the new Yongsan Business District signaling a radical departure from the crude repetition of disconnected towers towards a new urban community that populates the three-dimensional space of the city.”

Diagram of the towers and their interlocking bridges.