UNStudio Tower | UNStudio

Sustainability and flexibility are the main features of the UNStudio Tower in Amsterdam. Completed in 2009, the 21-story skyscraper, standing at 82.5 meters tall, is named after the architecture studio that designed it, and, along with five other buildings, shapes the urban complex "Mahler 4," located in the heart of the southern city axis, linking Schiphol airport to the main commercial areas of the region.

Nine levels of the building are occupied by the offices of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The structure includes 38,000 square meters of residential spaces, 162,000 square meters of offices, and 30,000 square meters for commercial activities, located on the ground floor along with cafes, restaurants, and a sports center. Each floor is 40mx40m wide.

The visual motif of the façade is conceptually inspired by the moiré effect, with the juxtaposition of horizontal and vertical elements. The former, white aluminum bands, wrap around the tower. The variety of sizes, depths, and transparency of these elements ensures the right balance between solar shading and natural light influx in the interiors, along all levels of the construction.

The vertical accents are instead made up of empty spaces, cuts engraved on each façade to "furrow" the skin of different floors, designed to create a dialogue between interior and exterior and to make the external envelope an extension of the interiors.

In the vertical cavities, colored glass panels are inserted, which characterize the common areas placed not in the center but along the perimeter of the structure with different types of light. This type of placement leaves the possibility, if necessary, to transform the voids into verandas (internal and external).

Among the eco-sustainable solutions, the project includes: The use of durable and high-quality materials and equipment throughout the building and a lightweight structure (with consequent reduced use of construction materials in the foundations) to reduce the frequency of replacement of building components and mechanics. The insertion of slats, different in height, width, and depth, on each face and level of the construction, in order to regulate both direct sunlight penetration and noise pollution. The use of thermal glass that allows sufficient natural lighting of the interiors and reduces direct solar irradiation. An underground energy storage system capable of reducing energy consumption by 30 to 35.7%. Low-energy consumption devices with motion sensors for control and differentiation of levels of artificial lighting and temperature in the interiors. Tanks for water savings and the use of gray water.