HEARD IT ON THE GRAPEVINE
02 Aug 2017
A new residential high-rise in Stuttgart, Germany will feature architectural niches in the building's stone-clad façade that will house a series of grapevines and simultaneously collect rainwater for their irrigation.
Pockets of greenery appear to split apart the stone facade of this new mixed-use tower planned for Stuttgart, Germany. RKW Architektur+ has recently won the competition to design a residential high-rise at Mailänder Platz, the winning design sets itself apart from the other entries by incorporating a series of stone façade niches planted with grapevines, in addition to an abundance of public space features.
The stone-clad façade is punctuated with niches that will be planted with robust grapevines, and a window will be located behind the niche that can be opened for plant maintenance. Lights integrated into the top of the niche illuminate the planters and give the building a distinctive appearance at night. Keeping the maintenance of the design to a minimum, the irrigation system will use rainwater collected from the roofs to keep the vines healthy and watered.
Set on a triangular site, the Mailänder Platz tower will comprise residential units, cafes, retail space, a hotel, and a library. The building’s two stacked stone-clad volumes will be set atop glazed bases to give the tower a sense of lightness. The glazed walls of the ground floor are to be used to help break the building down to human scale and add to the building’s pedestrian-friendly design. A cafe with seating will mark the lively entrance to the new hotel and library.