For the designers of the award-winning high rise residential development, the MET, currently under construction in Bangkok, Thailand explores the opportunities of high-rise living in the tropics. Rather than adopting models developed in temperate countries, with a string separation of the interior and the exterior, this project explores how aspects of low-rise tropical housing can be applied to create outdoor-indoor spaces in the sky.
Moreover, the project seeks to create appropriate tropical living at extremely high densities – a plot ratio of 10:1.
Urban Context
Most tropical high-rise housing in developing countries is designed by the consultants from the temperate countries replicating cold-climate models. However, in the tropics light winds, year-round balmy weather, constant temperatures and high humidity make outdoor living desirable. Additionally, living conditions higher up in the dense Asian cities are more preferable to those near the ground – there is more privacy, better views, lower humidity, stronger breezes, and better security, less noise and less dust.
To make the most of these opportunities, this project creates cross-ventilated tropical houses in the sky with breezeways, full exposure to light and views, outdoor living areas, planters and high-rise gardens, and open-air communal terraces with barbeques, libraries, spas and other facilities. These sky terraces both private and public link the blocks every five storeys creating dramatic yet human-scaled external spaces.
The tower is planted on every horizontal surface, creating a near-100 percent landscape ratio. Additionally, vertical faces are shaded by green creeper screens, rising up the full 66 storeys while balconies are provided with private planters. Thus, the building with its planted facades, balconies and sky gardens, contributes to the urban environment by bringing cool, dark, natural relief to the grey concrete of central Bangkok. Furthermore, the walls incorporate random inserts of faceted polished stainless steel, a contemporary interpretation of the sparkling mirrors incorporated into Thai temples, returning this delightful glittering effect at a scale appropriate to the central city.
Common areas are spread throughout the tower, offering the residents a variety of experiences; from the intricately designed carpet of water, stone and vegetation at ground level to the extensive indoor-outdoor facilities at the pool level to libraries, barbeques and function areas at sky terraces offer the experience of living high in the sky to all inhabitants.
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