Velo Towers

The Velo Towers by Asymptote are designed within the Yongsan master plan now being implemented in Seoul, Korea. The towers are designed through a strategy of stacking cylindrical volumes then utilizing rotation of each volume according to views, privacy and environmental aspects. The towers consist of eight distinct residential components each rotated and positioned within a carefully choreographed massing arrangement, calibrating the orientation and views of each residential volume and taking full advantage of the towers' position adjacent to the Yongsan Park overlooking the Han River in the distance. The stacked clusters are complemented by roof gardens, shared amenities and internal circulation around light filled open atrium spaces. This formal approach provides a welcome counterpoint to the conventionally extruded massing that convention dictates. Through careful formal manipulation and the breaking

down of the scale and massing of these two towers, an alternative architectural and urbanity approach is achieved.
The Velo Towers consist of three major components that make up the architectural ensemble. At the base a plinth connects the towers and provides space for park side condominiums and a covered drop off area beneath. The second feature is the stacked volumes that each provides gardens, open-air stacks through the cores and a sense of discrete communities within the larger complex. Thirdly, a sky bridge not only structurally connects the two towers' cores, but also provides public amenities in the sky overlooking Seoul.
The Velo Towers design and construction strategy exploits the latest advances in design, materials and digital fabrication that are now being brought forward from the automotive, aerospace and marine industries. By merging these new means of production and fabrication into building design, the Velo Towers offer a glimpse into the future of building with the aid of technological advancements in the fabrication and assembly of building components.