Valley houses various offices and commercial units as well as cultural facilities in the seven floors at the base of the building, out of which 200 apartments appear to rise in the form of three stacked high-rise towers. The volumes are positioned on top of and next to each other in an irregular pattern; they are twisted in different directions, overlap one another and project outwards, creating a landscape-like arrangement of balconies and terraces. The same applies to the base plateau between the towers, which is just as rugged and consists of many individual levels and platforms. These are open to the public and can be accessed from the outside via stairs. As a result, the building becomes a landscape that people are able to hike around. The idea of a natural environment is also bolstered by a natural stone façade with an irregular, parametric design as well as natural plants. Contrasting with this is the outer building envelope, which consists of a classic allglass façade – although only in fragments. This creates a clever link to the building’s surroundings, which is then severed by the edges of the building which appear to be crumbling. The Schüco USC and UCC façade systems were used for the glass façades. The USC (Unitized System Construction) unitized façade is ideal for large and heavy glass modules, while the Schüco UCC (Unitized Customised Construction) façade boasts extremely narrow profiles. The sterile and reflective glass façade seems to give structure to the organic activity taking place within the building.

Source: Profile magazine, issue 28

Download the profile 28 here (pdf, 8.0 MB)