TYPE: International Competition - First Prize Winner in November 2010 

CLIENT: BES Engineering Corporation, Taipei 

CONTRACT LOCATION: XinYin District, Taipei City, Taiwan 

PROGRAM: 40 Luxurious Apartments + Facilities 

SURFACE AREA: 42.335.34 m2 

DELIVERY: 2016 

CURRENT PHASE: Construction Documents – Below grade under construction 

GREEN CERTIFICATION: LEED Gold 

INTERNATIONAL DESIGN ARCHITECT: Vincent Callebaut Architectures, SARL Paris 

LOCAL ARCHITECT: LKP Design, Taipei 

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: King Le Chang & Associates, Taipei 

LOCAL MEP ENGINEERING: Sine & Associates, Taipei 

INTERNATIONAL INTERIOR ARCHITECT: Wilson & Associates (WA), Los Angeles 

INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: SWA, Sausalito, San Francisco 

LOCAL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Horizon & Atmosphere (H&A), Taipei 

INTERNATIONAL LIGHTING DESIGNER: L'Observatoire International, New-York 

LOCAL LIGHTING DESIGNER: Unolai Design, Taipei 

GREEN CONSULTANT: Enertek, Taipei 

VCA’S TEAM: Emilie Diers, Frederique Beck, Jiao Yang, Florence Mauny, Volker Erlich, Philippe Steels, Marco Conti Sikic, Benoit Patterlini, Maguy Delrieu, Vincent Callebaut

MODEL MAKER: Patrick Laurent

In November 2010, VINCENT CALLEBAUT ARCHITECTURES SARL was awarded as the successful tenderer for the construction of a new Luxurious Residential Tower located at Taipei. The Project is currently under construction and will be completed in 2016. 

You will find below the CONCEPTUAL DESIGN PROPOSAL presented during the competition phase in 2010 by Vincent Callebaut, Design Architect: 

In the heart of the urban networks of Xinyin District in full development, the AGORA GARDEN project presents a pioneer concept of sustainable residential eco-construction that aims at limiting the ecologic footprint of its inhabitants by researching the right symbiosis between the human being and the Nature. 

On this site that is the last and only biggest parcel of land for residential use, the concept is to build a true fragment of vertical landscape with low energetic consumption. The building is thus eco-designed. It integrates not only the recycling of organic waste and used water but also all the renewable energies and other new state-of-the-art nanotechnologies (BIPV solar photovoltaic, rain water recycling, compost, etc.). The project targets thus the energetic performance so as to be officially approved by the Green Building Label, the norm for high environmental quality, delivered by the Home Affairs Ministry of Taipei. 

Part of the concept of inhabited and cultivated vertical farm through its own inhabitants, this project of residential tower enables first to design by its avant-gardist architecture a new life style in accordance with the nature and the climate. Actually, the AGORA GARDEN tower superimposes vertically wide planted balconies of true suspended orchards, organic vegetable gardens, aromatic gardens and other medicinal gardens. 

Such as a living organism, the tower becomes metabolic! It overpasses its energy-consuming passive role (absorbing all the natural resources and rejecting only waste) to produce its own organic food. The architectural concept is thus to eco-design an energy self-sufficient building, whose energy is electric, thermal and also alimentary. 

Therefore, the project answers directly to 4 main ecologic objectives of the After Copenhagen: 

1. The reduction of the climatic global warming.

2. The protection of the nature and the biodiversity. 

3. The protection of the environment and the quality of life. 

4. The management of the natural resources and waste.