Architecture studio Foster + Partners have designed an extraordinary office tower for the heart of Buenos Aires. As a sustainable and flexible building, Avenida Cordoba 120 is set to provide more than just an optimum working environment. Its public space is intended to enhance the entire district.
Although for some people the name of this project will trigger associations with the 1978 FIFA World Cup, the new office tower Avenida Cordoba 120 has nothing to do with the legendary football match in Córdoba. The tower is being built in Buenos Aires on one of the metropole’s main thoroughfares, whose name it bears. The design of this new Foster + Partners construction is still spectacular, though.
Garden paradise for all
The 35-storey building lies at an important junction between the town centre and the redeveloped harbour district of Puerto Madero. Here, the office tower will not just provide attractive workspaces, but is also expected to serve as a new city highlight. Among other things, it will include lush public gardens and a café. The large green space also extends below the building, envisioned as a relaxing meeting area for visitors.
Relaxing beneath the new office tower: public gardens and a café are part of the project titled Avenida Cordoba 120.
“Avenida Cordoba 120 combines structure and nature to create a landmark building that will set a new benchmark for office buildings in the region. Through its materiality and spatial variety, it offers flexible workspaces for a range of companies, while enhancing its urban surroundings,” says David Summerfield, Head of Studio at the renowned firm Foster + Partners.
Avenida Cordoba 120 combines structure and nature to create a landmark building that will set a new benchmark for office buildings in the region.
David Summerfield, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners
Construction at the crossroads between Avenida Cordoba and Avenida Alem has already begun. And the design by the architects at Foster + Partners promises an impressive environment.
Smart triangle
The elegant office tower will be triangular in shape, ensuring ideal views of the Rio de la Plata and also of Buenos Aires city centre. At the same time, a lift core at the building’s southern facade enables spacious and flexible organization of the interior spaces.
Flex office with a wide range of possibilities: the new office tower in Buenos Aires, designed by Foster + Partners.
Seventy percent of the ground plan is designated as public space. The garden will rise above the café, which will tastefully blend into the surrounding greenery. This space is also designed to be an ideal environment for events.
Green terraces
Dense, abundant greenery will also adorn the building in the form of triple-storey green terraces. These will serve as attractive open-air spaces that can be used for informal meetings.
Seven terraces and five indoor atria define the building’s organizational principle. Offices will be grouped around open spaces like “villages”. This concept enables the architects to establish a visual connection between different levels.
The design features up to twenty different floor plans, based on four basic types, which will allow future users to choose from a wide range of possibilities.
Office tower with bicycle ramp
The raised entrance lobby of Avenida Cordoba 120 will be accessible through a promenade of terraced steps. To the east and west, escalators will be available. And a dedicated bicycle ramp plus barrier-free entrance will be located at the south-eastern apex of the building. A subdued range of materials in the lobby with wood, fair-faced concrete and polished stainless steel will create a particularly inviting ambience.
Sustainability is key
The folded stainless steel facade is based on a “picture frame” principle, which aims to highlight the views of the city below and also reduce heat gain.
The architects have not yet published further information with details of their sustainability concept. It is clear, however, that the office tower is intended to provide the highest standard possible in this regard. After all, the team have specified an LEED Gold rating as their goal.
It is well known that Foster + Partners are experts in sustainable architecture. Their founder was honoured as part of The National German Sustainability Award in 2013, and Sir Norman Foster is generally renowned as a pioneer of this type of architecture.
Impressive portfolio
Rightly so, as his architecture firm continually demonstrates in new projects. The most recent of these include the LEED Platinum-certified Comcast Technology Center in Philadelphia and the BBC Cymru Wales Headquarters in Cardiff. Other examples are Michael Bloomberg’s spectacular European headquarters in London and eye-catching Apple Stores around the world.
First-rate offices for tomorrow’s world
At the same time, another exquisite flex-office building is now being developed in Luxembourg, designed by the same architecture team: “ICÔNE” – like Buenos Aires’ new office tower – is set to provide a boost for the whole district, while also aiming for excellent BREEAM and WELL Building Standard® ratings.
Text: Elisabeth Schneyder Translation: Rosemary Bridger-Lippe Images: Foster + Partners
Other articles that might interest you
#smart office
Inclusive office as a smart village
Non-profit association Aktion Mensch has an emphatic motto – “Together we will win”. Inclusion is especially important to this private charity, which runs a lottery to support social projects. Its focus is also reflected in the organization’s new head office in Bonn, Germany. The design concept by the Ippolito Fleitz Group takes diversity as a central theme. And it also turns interior design into a strong framework for displaying the humane side to life.
#smart office
From heating plant to co-working centre
Studio Perspektiv has transformed a historic industrial landmark into a modern office building. Bratislava’s former heating plant, designed in functionalist style by architect Dušan Jurkovič, now serves as a spacious Base4Work co-working centre.
#smart office
Green oasis in concrete tower
In the Vietnamese metropolis Ho Chi Minh City, an increasing number of new office towers are shooting skyward. Local architectural office MIA Design Studio makes sure that nature isn’t forgotten in the process. Even if it has to flourish inside busy interiors.
#smart office
High-tech timber for Norwegian banking
Timber construction can be decidedly high-tech, as illustrated by the head office built for SR Bank in Stavanger, Norway. Bjergsted Financial Park offers workplaces that are fit for the future, and it is among Europe’s largest engineered timber buildings.
#smart office
Pairing wood and stone in a Danish design
Sejet Plant Breeding in Denmark develops modern grain varieties. The company cultivates plants using state-of-the-art, sustainable technology, and has adopted the same approach for its new entrance building, designed by GinnerupArkitekter.
In the service of biological diversity
Good news for local fauna: The dedication of not-for-profit organization CABI to combatting climate change through innovative agricultural solutions is reflected in the architecture of its new headquarters in England.
#smart office
“Smart means something is communicating with me”
Alan Hofmann is a building engineer and timber constructor from Austria. His company Woodplan occupies a digital niche for building projects around the world. In this interview he describes his interpretation of intelligent offices, and how an office can be smart in an old Austrian building.
#smart office
In full control
In everyday office life, automation is especially key to success. Lighting, sound, shading, heating, cooling, ventilation and access systems can be operated centrally with intelligent controls by Loxone.
#smart office
New Work from New York
The new co-working space Hammerbrooklyn in Hamburg is designed to be a place of inspiration and creativity. Besides its passion and dedication, this curated community thrives on a desire for innovation and thirst for the future.
#smart office
A ship drops anchor
Cologne is home to one of Germany’s most digitalized office buildings, known as The Ship. Inspired by its success as a model of contemporary working, a second project is being added just next door: the Vorum.
#smart office
A Cobot Hub for humans and robots
Heralding a bright future in an innovative, exciting location, this robotics centre in Denmark designed by 3XN is expected to become the perfect place to work. It is a Cobot Hub for the employees at two companies. And also for the robots developed there.
#smart office
Cost-free solutions on a billion-dollar market
Big tech can actually be avoided. The small Swiss company Infomaniak is taking on digital office tech giants like Zoom and Microsoft. Without any charges or advertising, it is offering videoconferencing that can also be used by inexperienced users.
#smart office
Sealed by the sultan
In Istanbul the two spectacular towers for Ziraat Bank have grown high into the sky. While their shape is oriented on traditional calligraphy, the interior displays state-of-the-art technical features.
#smart office
A little bird told you …
Inspired by traditional survival strategies of experienced miners, the architects at 3XN/GXN have “bred” a stylish canary that takes care of our health in the workplace.
#smart office
A wanderer with a high-tech trailer
As he was constantly on the move, technology entrepreneur Jeff Kleck was looking for a clever solution for a live-work space. His brilliant idea? To convert an old Airstream into what is probably the world’s best mobile smart office, which he calls “Kugelschiff”.
#smart office
How smart lifts think for us
Automated machine communication is enabling new applications. In predictive maintenance, smart lifts indicate whether they are working or need attention.
#smart office
The building that thinks
You’ve seen smart homes, now it’s time for smart buildings. Cube Berlin, an office complex that controls itself via artificial intelligence, opened in early 2020.
#smart office
“This is just the tip of the iceberg!”
Andreas Thamm is a “smart office” expert. As Chairman of the Management Board at UBM Development Germany, he is steering the company towards an intelligent future. It is an issue that is particularly relevant in times of COVID-19.
#smart office
The digital world of tomorrow
In China, Zaha Hadid Architects are building two 400-metre giant structures that make sensational use of digital possibilities. With its smart solutions, Tower C is efficient and, above all, environmentally friendly.
#smart office
The flexible icon
The office complex ICÔNE has been created by the architects at Foster + Partners as an elegant answer to current working trends. This new flex office building is currently under construction in Luxembourg’s Belval Quarter, where urban renewal is set to create the city’s new “best address”.
#city planning #smart office
Beneath the dragon’s skin
The new showpiece unveiled by Swatch is not a watch, but office architecture at its finest. To create the reptilian curves of the new Swatch headquarters in Biel, star architect Shigeru Ban has built one of the world’s largest timber-framed constructions.
#smart office
Google (re)invents itself
Internet giant Google wants to do more than provide the right answers every time on the digital front. With the construction of the new headquarters in Silicon Valley, it wants to supply the solution to every workplace problem. Specifically, it aims to revolutionize working environments completely!
#smart office
Axel Springer: new headquarters as a statement
Berlin has a new landmark: the new Axel Springer building. The avant-garde complex isn’t just an urban statement, it also stands for the future of working in the digital world.
