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The idea was inspired by the karst peaks shrouded in clouds and mists in Zhangjiajie. In this project, we attempt to explore the balance between nature and urban development with “Wind, Light, Water, and Green” as our key narrative elements. Thanks to Kaohsiung’s policies on architecture and greening, we are able to adopt the concept of “Flowing with Karst” and incorporate in this project layers of undulating angular balconies three meters in width each that provides sufficient space to grow large shrubs and create a visual impact with lush plants on the building’s façade. With its exterior design representing the karst landscape in Zhangjiajie, the eco-island-hopping vertical extension integrates the urban green belt and forms an organic and layered urban sky garden.
This project is located in Kaohsiung, the city with the highest number of sunshine hours in Taiwan and also with rich, diverse climatic and geographic conditions. Furthermore, in response to the near future of aging society and environmental deterioration, the project adopts three design principles - environmental sustainability, local identity, and healthy housing. In our design of each unit, the household living in the unit is the focal point. Through the design of balconies with high green coverage and buildings serving as points of eco-island hopping, we intend to achieve a mutual integration between our buildings and nature, add more shades of green to the city with vigorous and verdant plants, and redefine the meanings of high-rise buildings and of living in a green city.
Each unit’s residents can create their own eco-living space on the 3-meter-outward balcony. The floor-to-ceiling windows on each balcony can bring the unit more natural light and air circulation, regulate its microclimate environment, and visually connect the indoor space with the outdoor view, making its residents feel like they are living in nature. These landscaped balconies can also effectively reduce the thermal mass on the building skin and limit direct solar heat entering indoor space. The staggered undulating balconies resonates with the greenery vitality form the vertical forest, creates a visual image of a majestic karst forest, serving as a symbol of harmony between architecture and nature. Such a unique appearance of the building makes it more recognizable and serves as a new green landmark in the urban skyline and also a good example of how to create man-nature coexistence and new experiences of living in a high-density city.
We aspire to build a new paradigm of green buildings that are not only sustainable in a tropical environment but also rich in local characteristics. Through our project, buildings in the city are no longer merely masses made of concrete but carriers of green coverage and carbon capture.
Founded in 2000, SED-IA Architects was rebranded from LKP Architecture in 2020 to reinforce its twenty-year commitment in architecture services, covering practice areas such as large-scale mixed-use urban design and planning, office buildings, commercial, public sector, education facilities, boutique residential, and public landscape. We strive to craft sustainable designs that have a positive environmental impact. SED-IA is named to define the concept of architecture in its "imagery" and "physical" forms. "Imagery" conceptualizes architecture design as an illustration of a mutually dependent relationship established between people and the environment, where such a connection renders ecological conversations within space, time, and natural elements. The abstract concept is presented "physically" by built structures, in which our team integrates sustainable design to instill everlasting values.
