Absolute Towers / MAD Architects

01:00 - 12 December, 2012

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Absolute Towers / MAD Architects

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 Iwan Baan

Architects

MAD Architects

Location

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Director in Charge

Ma Yansong, Yosuke Hayano, Dang Qun

Design Team

Shen Jun, Robert Groessinger, Florian Pucher, Yi Wenzhen, Hao Yi, Yao Mengyao,
Zhao Fan, Liu Yuan, Zhao Wei, Li Kunjuan, Yu Kui, Max Lonnqvist, Eric Spencer

Associate Architects

BURKA Architects INC.

Structural Engineer

SIGMUND, SOUDACK & ASSOCIATES INC.

Mechanical Engineer

ECE Group

Electrical Engineer

ECE Group

Landscape Architect

NAK Design

Interior Designer

ESQAPE Design

Client

Fernbrook / Cityzen
 Project Year

2012

Photographs

Iwan Baan, Tom Arban, MAD Architects

+10

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Iwan
Baan

From the architect. Throughout the process of urbanization, skyscrapers have been symbols
of technological bravado, prime capitals and the societal projections of wealth and prosperity.
This limited framework for skyscrapers often results in solutions limited by homogenous,
linear structures and degenerative duplication in business districts across the globe. Forced
into an unnatural state of conformity, metropolitan life is negatively affected by these
unchecked, efficiency-centric development practices. Without a challenge to the status quo,
our cities will continue to lack the cohesion of life as implied by the term: forest. A forest is a
thriving ecosystem wherein every organism survives only in a state of symbiosis. New
ambitions nurtured in a changing global consciousness challenge the aging pattern of last
century's development and favor fresh thoughtful, inspiring and eloquent solutions for
tomorrow's high-rises.

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Tom
Arban

What lies in the future of our cities? How should one grasp the concept of emerging high-
density cities? How can city dwellers be immersed with an enriching experience of nature
when its presence steadily diminishes in the face of the ever intensifying concrete
inundation? Faced with these challenges, future high-rise buildings need to catalyze a higher
level of complexity in our cities for the sake of harmonious civilization.

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 MAD
Architects

Fondly dubbed the Marylyn Monroe towers by local residents, the Absolute Towers parallel
the twisting fluidity or natural lines found in life. This activation of flow forms an organic
punctuation in the landscape and a desire for an urban acknowledgement of enthusiasm.
Here, we thrive to challenge the sustenance of commonplace boxy skyscrapers. Our ambition
was to provide each resident a unique experience of the city, a heterarchitical distribution.
Continuous balconies widen individual viewing angles and promote community at the micro
scale of a single floor. At the macro, the cadence of the floors rising into the sky echo the
modular rhythms of the human experience, yet emphasizes the movement of an adoring
figure. We hope this building can wake up metropolitans desires towards nature, such as sun
and wind, and certainly, human bodies.

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Iwan
Baan

Like other suburbs in North America, Mississauga, near Toronto, has been quickly
developing into an independent, urbanized area. Yet, the cityscape lacked a unique character.
In response, we wanted to add something naturalistic, delicate and human in contrast to the
backdrop of listless, boxy buildings. Sited at the junction of two main streets (Hurantario and
Burnhamthorpe), the Absolute Towers gracefully bear their landmark status and act as a
gateway to the city beyond. As a residential landmark that strives for more than simple
efficiency, the buildings provide residents an emotional connection to their hometown and
neighbors.

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 MAD
Architects

Eschewing the tradition of accentuated verticality in high-rises, the Absolute Towers choose
not to emphasize vertical lines. Instead, the design features a smooth, unbroken balcony that
wraps each floor of the building. In addition, at each successive level, the floor plate rotates
in a range of one to eight degrees affording breathtaking panoramas of the Mississauga
skyline concluding in reverence to the principle street intersection at its peak. By maximizing
the viewing potentials inside and out, creating a wonderful medium for social interaction
throughout the balconies, and connecting the city dwellers with naturalistic design principles,
Mississauga is infused with a new character.

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 Iwan
Baan

In place of the basic, functional logic of an aging modernism, the current trend of sustainable
design is reminiscent of the sudden rise in the glass-faced boxy buildings of last century.
Sustainability, in concept, is often unfortunately simplified to the lowest common
denominator. If we limit the scope of sustainable ecology to energy savings, it will become
merely a demand for comfort while the yearning of a return to nature is ignored. This design
practice remains the axiom of the industrial revolution, man controls nature. We feel
sustainability is a much greater concept which can guide a new culture of design resulting in
real change. For instance, in traditional Chinese gardens, building and nature elements are
integrated to create a spiritual and poetic environment fostering great literature, poem and
music, or simply life and philosophy. Our approach, ergo, is to create a balanced environment
that evokes the feeling of exploring nature while simultaneously a responsive model for the
development of urban space in harmony with nature. A sustainable architecture in modern
concept. Real sustainability results in a harmonious civilization. This is the biggest challenge
of our time. How do we rebuild urban environments with life and emotion where people are
connected and respected?

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 Iwan
Baan

The torsional form of the towers is underpinned with a surprisingly simply and inexpensive
structural solution. The two residential towers are supported by a grid of concrete load
bearing walls. The bearing walls extend and contract in response to the sectional fluctuation
created by the rotation of the floors while the balconies consist of cantilevered concrete slabs.
In order to ensure the elegant edge profiles are as thin as possible, there is a thermal break in
the slabs at the exterior glazing such that the insulation need not wrap the entirety of the
balconies. Meanwhile, the dynamically fluid shaping of the towers, naturally aerodynamic,
adeptly handles wind loading and ensures comfort throughout all the balconies. Besides
providing every resident with a nice exterior place to enjoy views of Mississauga, the
balconies naturally shade the interior from the summer sun while soaking in the winter sun,
reducing air conditioning costs.

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Plan