Asymptote Architecture

Millennium Tower World Business Center, Busan, South Korea

On 25 January 2007. Asymptote Architecture, a New York based architecture practice led by principals Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture, has been awarded the Millennium Tower World Business Center (WBCB) in Busan, Korea through an international competition organi...zed by the Busan International Architectural Culture Festival (BIACF) and sponsored by the Municipality of Busan City and the Solomon Group. The announcement was made on January 23 in Busan after a unanimous decision by jury members selecting Asymptote's ground breaking design of three separate tapered towers rising out of a robust and powerful base. The Solomon Group, a private Korean developer, intends to move forward with Asymptote's design for a 560m tall tower, which upon completion will be the tallest building in Asia. Asymptote's three-towered design for the World Business Center Busan is a newly minted approach where the notion of singularity and autonomy gives way to a strong juxtaposition of form and voids. Simultaneously a single entity, the towers are also read as three distinct forms set against Busan's dramatic natural backdrop of sea and mountains. The base of the tower artfully negotiates the site at the entrance level while from the top of the midsection the three slender towers rise above the skylobby level and gracefully taper upwards around a spectacular central void. Through its formal and sculptural qualities this unique architectural expression is a powerful symbol of 21st century Busan and a beacon for it's trajectory into the future and onto the global stage.Read More

PENANG GLOBAL CITY CENTER

Asymptote’s design for the PGCC complex is centered on the idea of creating a new and powerful image for the city of Penang and the new initatives associated with the development of the Northern Corridor of Malaysia. The design achieves its elegance and stature through the simultaneous embrace ...of natural landscapes and contemporary urbanism. The PGCC will become a vital new precinct that complements and enhances the unique characteristics that typify Penang as a remarkable island metropolis. The design of the iconic towers in particular draws inspiration from not only the lushness and drama of the surrounding mountains and seascapes, but also from the rich and diverse cultural heritage that makes up the Malaysian nation and Penang in particular. The forms of the two towers are comprised of both horizontal and vertical elements: sculpted horizontal components move across the plinth, rise up and transform into articulated vertical structures. Set against the backdrop of the nature reserve of Penang Hill, the twisting, glass façades of the towers “perform” various surface effects—reflecting, refracting and distorting views of Penang, the surrounding landscape and the seascape beyond. The vast, cascading plinth, which functions as a public plaza with multiple gathering spaces, are venues for the performing arts center, convention center and various facilities for residential, office and urban life.Read More

STRATA TOWER

The Strata Tower, a forty-story, luxury residential building designed by architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture of Asymptote, has broken ground on Al Raha Beach and is now under construction. The tower is scheduled for completion in early 2011 and, at a height of 160 meters, will be the tallest buildi...ng in the Al Dana precinct, the centerpiece of Aldar Properties prestigious Al Raha Beach development. The project and development will be showcased at Cityscape Abu Dhabi from May 2008. The landmark Strata Tower is designed to signify a dignified and important future for Abu Dhabi and the region.

As a signature architectural statement, the Strata Tower articulate, striking physical presence seeks to encapsulate meaning through the use of abstract form drawn from both local cultural landscapes and motifs and dynamic forces of global influence. The Strata Tower design utilizes primarily mathematical means in its design to achieve both a poetic, as well as highly pertinent, architecture for the UAE, a region in flux with ambitions for continued rapid growth.

The Strata Tower innovative form was created using state-of-the- art, advanced parametric modeling tools and techniques from the onset of the design process to the production phase. The building design emerged from various influences and factors including economies of production and fabrication with special consideration given to environmental sustainability. Sophisticated computer modeling and tools were utilized to produce the building intelligent, environmentally responsive louver system that is held in a unique, cantilevered exoskeleton structure. The exoskeleton veils the entire tower in a shimmering curvilinear form set against Abu Dhabi surrounding desert and sea, embracing and reflecting the ever-changing light and atmospheres that enfold and contain it.

As architecture the Strata Tower resists being an overt, singular gesture reliant on a set meaning or association. Rather, the mathematical properties used, not unlike those in the manifestation of the arabesque or abstract calligraphy, give the building its supreme elegance, prominence and potential for meaning and significance.

Principal Architects: Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture
Structural and MEP Engineer: ARUP, New York
Fasade Consultant: Front Inc., New York
Building Information Modeling (BIM) Consultant: Gehry Technologies, Los Angeles & New York
Environmental Designers: Atelier Ten, New York & London Read More