Meir Lobaton + Kristjan Donaldson recently shared their design for a 36 story residential tower in Mexico City, Mexico. The project addressed the balance between the desire of living in a single-family residence with the cost of the land.

The residential tower provides the family the luxury of living in an apartment building without sacrificing the comfort of a backyard. Gardens located on every level try to break with the dichotomy between land and building, and, more importantly, provide an area that is attractive and functional for the family members.

Each floor plan is organized around a single apartment type that is 400 square meters with a gardened extension of approximately 160 square meters. By rotating the apartments 90 degrees at successive levels, the gardens sit above the cantilevered bedrooms of the apartment below.

The shifting horizontal floor planes provide adequate space for full trees to grow. This shifting also balances the greenery, creating a blend of structure and nature, rather than allowing one element to dominate and the second to feel like an after-thought. The internal living areas are organized to take full advantage of the gardens which adds a feeling of openness to the residences.

Due to the volatile seismic condition that characterizes Mexico City, a system of deep shear walls and Vierendeel trusses stabilizes the structure while accommodating the rotating floor plans.

Date: July 2008 – March 2009

Expected year of completion: December 2011

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1. Mexico City: Torre Wins, Not Bicentennial Arch
2. Torre Bicentenario // Mexico City // OMA
3. Lange Jan & Lange Lies Apartment Towers // Heerlen // The Netherlands // Mecanoo Architecten
4. Spiracle By MAKE
5. FARO Wins Design Competition With Sustainable Residential Tower // Almere // The Netherlands