I don’t usually have much nice to say about the tall and expensive high rise buildings in London like the Shard or the Walkie Talkie fryscraper. I have complained about the housing crises in London and New York while towers get built for the rich who don’t even bother to live in them. But I am seriously wowed by this tower for London by Zurich firm E2A, and not just for their homage to the Greatest Architecture Photo Ever by Julius Shulman.
© E2A
Each floor is a separate unit; the structure is supported by four cores. The architects explain:
Outside of the service cores, the architects don’t deliver anything but space.
The architects offer a “freedom to evolve” instead of the usual predetermined standard. It is basically wide open space, modern lofts. Of course it will not end up this way, it will not be in any way affordable.
But the model can work for anyone at any scale: do the minimum, open space, exposed finishes, natural ventilation, low tech. Stack the bathrooms and kitchens and let the occupants do the rest. Keep it simple. This is obviously a building for the very rich, but anyone could have a version of this. This is great stuff from E2A.
