ARCHITECT
LAVA ‐ Laboratory for Visionary Architecture
Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser, Alexander Rieck
www.l‐a‐v‐a.net
Sydney – Stuttgart – Abu Dhabi – Shanghai
NAME OF PROJECT
Bionic Tower, High Rise Concept
LOCATION
Abu Dhabi, UAE
DATE
2007
CLIENT
Client: Confidential
STATUS
Feasibility Stage
SIZE
Height: 240 m
DESCRIPTION
The Bionic Tower embodies tomorrow’s architecture.
The Bionic Tower design moves beyond the superseded modernist concept of extruded
footprint and applied curtain wall to create a fully integrated intelligent façade that
harvests its surrounding environment to create maximum energy efficiency and user
comfort.
Structure and ornament
The Bionic Tower unifies structure, space and architectural expression similar to
naturally occurring systems of organisation.
Learning from nature and advanced computing technology enabled LAVA to conceive
structures of incredible lightness, efficiency and elegance. The intelligence of the
smallest unit results in the intelligence of the overall system.
The intelligence of the overall system
By parametric modelling of the ‘behavioural logic’ the system has been constantly
optimized throughout the design process to create a ‘whole’ that is greater than the sum
of its parts. Instead of an array of individual elements the building behaves like an
organism or ecosystem. Just as nature envisions organic regeneration, so the design
proposes a natural system of organic structure and organization.
The design proposes a naturally occurring system of structural organization that generates
a building embodying efficiencies found within natural structures and architectures. The
building acts as a system, with a skin that controls air pressure, temperature, humidity, air
pollution and solar radiation.
The proposed facade is an intelligent automation of surface to address pragmatic issues
such as ventilation, solar access and water collection.
No building skin today approaches the performance of the biological world. The
traditional curtain wall is passive, lacking the power to adjust to the fluctuating external
environment. It should be able to intervene actively in the buildings struggle to maintain
its internal stability.
New materials and technologies enable an adaptability, responsiveness, environmental
awareness and strength not seen in conventional architectural design.
Architecture has to perform as an ecosystem within the organic tissue of the city.
Architecture of the future is not about the shape but about the intelligence of the system.
PRACTICE CREDITS
LAVA – Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser, Alexander Rieck
