Needle Towers, somewhere on a lake in China 2013-2014

gianluca milesi architecture, Milan, Italy

This is a project for a vertical-horizontal architectural and urban system designed for a location on a lake in China.

We wanted to sign the territory with a strong structure in terms of importance and to sign it with a landmark.

This systems is a real urban macrostructure because its big dimensions, the impact on the territory and the life in the area and because of the complexity of its own nature.

The system in fact hosts several public functional spaces, from office spaces to commercial and leisure spaces located both in the vertical and horizontal elements of the construction.

Despite of the dimensions, the macrostructure is anyway and always thought to be a light texture connecting in an organic and natural way itself with the environment..

In order to keep this kind of relationship with the environment, the macro structure is designed as a fluid system, growing from the ground and culminating with a very thin vertical element, that is a composition of two tubular structures intersecting and sustaining each others because of their position and shape.

Beside this, the macro structure becomes a very aerial and permeable construction when it’s close to the ground and for this reason the communications on the ground level are easy and continuous.

The lightness of the structure is also underlined by the thinness of the vertical element-tower, a sophisticated symbolic sign, defining itself in the sky through a gentle but firm aspect.

The structure is 470 meters high and occupy an area of approximately 37.000 square meters, including the covered but open spaces.

Glass and aluminium are used for the vertical and horizontal closures, coatings and finishes, while steel is used to the structural parts of construction.

The language of contemporary and minimal architecture is used in order to give a sober but culturally and technically advanced image to the construction and to conjugate culture and poetry with a social and economic reality in a sensitive way.

Ago (Needle) Tower and:

year of design: 2012-2013

location: somewhere on a lake in China

design: gianluca milesi architecture

square footage: 37.000 s. m. c.a.

high: 479 meters

materials: glass, aluminium and steel