Architectural Competition | Four Towers in One | Shenzhen | China | Morphosis

In response to the interconnectedness of the new global city, Four Towers in One re-conceives the conventional urban grid as a dynamic, multi-dimensional organization, or armature, able to support the complex systems that define contemporary urban life. Like the complex yet coherent intricacy of a traditional Chinese puzzle, each site is conceived as a 3-dimensional envelope, interwoven with the other projects, rather than as a 2-dimensional isolated footprint. The well-established strategy of transferring air rights allows the zoning envelope for each building site to evolve beyond a simple vertical extrusion of the site’s footprint, to facilitate a network of interlocking forms reminiscent of the venerated Chinese puzzle........more

BMW Event and Delivery Center Competition | Morphosis

The Event Center for BMW focuses on the resolution of critical issues of urbanism, technology, and environmental sustainability in alignment with the company’s core values. By overlaying the multiple circulation exigencies on the site, a complex pattern of infrastructure emerges which is further informed by an urban strategy pulled from the site’s existing grid. The site plan emphasizes connections between BMW, the Olympic Park, and the city of Munich, while the structure creates a new, instantly recognizable urban landmark.

The principle space, which functions as a proscenium for the transference of car to new owner, meets the street as a transparent volume. As new automobiles spiral up from below the ground and move out into a void in a thick, glass wall, their motion animates the building. The theatricality of the building dynamically defines the corner site, while incisions in the building reveal views of the BMW tower and the mountains and city of Munich beyond. This project weaves disparate parts of the existing urban fabric together with fluid, large-scale gestures, evocative of movement transforming the BMW Event Center into an extension of the adjacent park and integrating it with the surrounding buildings, open spaces, and traffic facilities.

Advanced building systems, kinetic plan elements, and new circulations paths and bridges reflect the legacy of technological innovation and dynamism at BMW. Efficient and responsible use of natural resources are achieved via the integration of energy saving lighting, ventilation, and solar heat generation while an 8,000 square meter occupiable earth roof acts as an insulating element and connects the building seamlessly with the park to the west. Emerging from its context, the building is an extension of nature — appropriate to BMW’s ecological aspirations for the future of the automobile....more