“U-Silk City”, the 12-hectare urban expansion in the south of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi is the largest project under construction in Vietnam and comprises nine up-market 28-50-storey residential highrises and a wide range of public leisure and shopping facilities in the interlinking, greened pedestal storey.
The building depths of up to 40 meters and single-sided light exposure depths of up to 15 meters stipulated in the existing master plan actually make residential use impossible. In order to solve this problem voids are cut into the façade, increasing the surface area and providing more light for the space inside. The voids are positioned in a parametrically generated rhythmic structure, this becoming “dancing voids”. Varying types of footprint for any possible position of a void while at the same time keeping the load-bearing structure and the shafts form the basis of the manner in which they are programmed. The various types are configured by the program according to pre-defined probabilities which determine, for example, as of which number of vertical repetitions there can be a horizontal jump by the void of one or two positions. In this way each of the residential highrises has its own rhythmic structure and composition of nine similar yet nonetheless unique buildings. This creates a new typological approach to the construction of multi-storey residential accommodation. The position of the void influences the distribution and rhythm of the floor-to-ceiling façade elements, which vary in intensity of color in line with the programming.
Sustainability through building shape
The compact volume lowers the heat input and the solid stacking the use of surface area. The voids increase the shade on the façade in the tropical sun, which in summer beats down almost vertically. In North Vietnam’s cold winter, the low-lying windows increase the heat input. Usage as a “sky garden” references architectural utopias of the vertical city and by means of shade, oxygen production and evaporation improves the micro-climate. Ventilation in the shafts is improved. The interplay of the voids between filled and empty volumes continues in the intricate roof landscape with luxurious penthouse apartments and roof gardens in between, which help sustainability.
Silk as a metaphor for the façade texture
Silk is a product that dominates Vietnam’s history and society. An association with the reference to silk in the name given to the project is triggered by the façade texture, which surrounds the building like a robe, is made of anodized aluminum panels, which are irregular in their rhythm and oscillate in gentle colors. It is also to be found in the corrugated folds of the landscape architecture.
