B’ Tower is a combined retail and residential project completed by Wiel Arets Architects.
It is positioned in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and was finished in 2013.
B’ Tower by Wiel Arets Architects:
“The B’ Tower, positioned in the center of Rotterdam, is composed of 3 distinct volumes of retail and residential plan, and is a contiguous extension of Marcel Breuer’s 1955 ‘Bijkenkorf’ division shop. Standing at a height of 70 m (230 ft), its plinth encompasses retail whilst its subsequent volumes are composed of 54 studios and 24 apartments, respectively. The city of Rotterdam mandated in the mid-1990s that a portion of newly built structures in its center incorporate housing intrinsically, the B’ Tower is one particular of the 1st of these buildings, in search of to impart and sustain an urban vibrancy within this rapidly restructuring district.
Adjacently sited to a pedestrian promenade, the tower’s retail and lobby are accessed by foot, while its residential system provides extra entry alternatives for automobiles and bicyclists. Specially designated elevators allow this automobile entry, which rise 4 stories to an elevated park that offers direct access to the building’s core. This two-story and 64 space auto park allows for views onto the city’s surroundings beyond a ribbon of transparent glazing, disclosing the initial of several cinematographic experiential sequences inside this hybrid tower.
Foreseeing a feasible future conversion of use, the tower was created so as to let for the transformation of its residential units, which currently function as short keep apartments, into cooperative housing. The ground floor retail space is multi-storied in height, exposing itself to the adjacent pedestrian promenade, and columns within each and every corner of the tower enable for completely flush glazing. The upper storied residential volumes feature generously sized balconies, each admeasuring 4.8 x 2.1 m (15.7 x 6.9 ft), offering the tower’s residents with outside entertainment space in a position to accommodate a 6-particular person dinner party table.
A collectively balanced heating and cooling technique is embedded inside each floor slab, with each other with electrical and IT options, regulating the flow of ventilation to and from the tower at all instances. Power for heating is circulated all through every slab by way of the area’s central ‘district heating’ program, whilst cooling is collectively developed within a central device just before its distribution. This holistic strategy to the interior climate allowed for the seamless integration of the heating, cooling, electrical, and IT elements, which service the tower’s environmental wants with out dictating its design and style. Capping each the roof of the elongated retail space and the prime of the tower are locations of green vegetation.
Interior living spaces are outfitted with kitchens created by WAA in collaboration with Alessi and Valcucine, with most remaining residential furnishings created by WAA in collaboration with Lensvelt. All bathrooms are equipped with the WAA Il Bagno dOt bathroom series fixtures, which are made by Alessi, Laufen, and Oras. Special to the uppermost and cantilevered volume’s residences are façade facing bathrooms, enabling one particular to soak in an oversized bathtub although overlooking the skyline of Rotterdam under and beyond.”
Photos courtesy of Wiel Arets Architects
