''THE VERTICAL VILLAGE'' Our latest Participation In: -Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) ''International Student Tall Building Design Competition''.
-Elective Peter Ruge, SDM XII - ‘On the G-Road’, Dessau Institute of Architecture Masters Programme.
Our Task: Creating a Self-sufficient Community in High-Rise building "200m high" in Helwan city. Achieving the optimum structure using sustainable materials to get high stability and to support the agricultural community.
Participate with: Lada Mitkovets
More Details : During the initial conceptualization, several factors have been considered mainly based on the ‘Triangle of Sustainability’, which is - the environmental factors, the social factors, and the economic factors. These factors have been taken into account since the beginning of the design process, where the decision was taken to use sustainable material and reuse building materials. Based on the site chosen (Helwan - Egypt),
we decided to use environmentally friendly materials such as sugar cane - for the facades and to cover the tower’s wooden beams. The structural stability of the building is calculated using a simulation program called ‘Karamba’. This software would provide the stress and strain, the smallest thickness required of the wooden beams, as well as the least amount of wood to be used to minimize the wastage (the article about this is also available in the Helwan).
For the purpose of reusing building materials, the wood from the old buildings is repurposed into floors & beams and the old bricks are used for the facade of the new building. As recycled materials, about 70% of the glass from the old windows and about 80% of the insulation material from the old building are recycled for the new units. Additionally, solar power on top of the new steel structure is proposed.
The function has also been changed into mixed-use (commercial building, housing, gallery, event space, tenant office spaces, offices, conference room, and a separate restaurant space). This project is unique for its location as it is in the city’s distressed factory district.
