Paris-based Vincent Callebaut Architectures has revealed new photos of Tao Zhu Yin Yuan, a LEED Gold-certified high-rise slated for completion in the second half of 2021. Located in the financial district of Taiwan’s capital, the award-winning vertical forest building was created by the architects as an “anti-global warming and carbon-absorbing ecosystem” and will feature approximately 23,000 trees, shrubs and plants along the ground floor, balconies and terraces. The architects estimate that the 21-story building will absorb around 130 tons of carbon a year.
The Tao Zhu Yin Yuan — formerly known as the Agora Garden — includes 20 floors of luxury apartments expected to be the most expensive per square foot in Taipei. Designed to mimic the double helix structure of DNA, the building’s twisting form allows for stunning panoramic city views from every floor. There are two apartments per floor and spacious 165-square-meter open-air private terraces. Each column-free floor is rotated by 4.5 degrees clockwise, resulting in a 90-degree difference between the ground floor and the top level.
Since seismic activity and tropical typhoons are common in Taiwan, the architects bolstered Tao Zhu Yin Yuan with a suspended structural system and a Vierendeel truss system to ensure high earthquake and weather resistance. To meet LEED Gold standards, the energy-efficient building is wrapped in a double-skin facade and integrates natural ventilation chimneys, a rainwater recycling system, LEDs and solar panels to generate renewable energy.
Related: France’s first Vertical Forest will add a “hectare of forest” to Paris’ skyline
“A building should be a song of the earth and co-exist with the environment,” the architects explained. “A carbon absorbing Vertical Forest building is no doubt the most profound foresight for the buildings of future cities. Tao Zhu Yin Yuan puts fighting global warming into practical action, shows love for the trees and forests, interprets in depth through space and carves the sustainable faith. We hope to improve the world’s effort in fighting against global warming and establish the carbon absorbing culture of the people; we will set out from Taiwan and declare it to the world.”
+ Vincent Callebaut Architectures
Images via Vincent Callebaut Architectures
