kwong von glinow brings new urban verticality to residential-living in hong kong

‘towers within a tower’ by kwong von glinow design office brings hong kong‘s urban verticality into the apartment unit itself. apartments, which are typically inhabited in a horizontal arrangement, are stacked one atop the other vertically for this proposal. therefore, each apartment becomes its own tower and when aggregated next to one another, they produce shared outdoor spaces: a local neighborhood at every level.

towers within a tower
all images © kwong von glinow design office

although variation may occur through aggregating each apartment, US based kwong von glinow design office maintains three basic unit types: studios of 32 m2, single bedrooms of 37 m2, and family units of 42 m2. each one of these units are unique in their proportion, organization, and color, serving the varying needs of each tenant type.

vertical living within a tower

each unit type is composed of prefabricated elements. once assembled into boxes, it can be easily mounted onto each other apartment with cast-in steel-plate embeds. the concrete frame is clad with colorful ceramic tiles highlighting the common construction material of residential towers in hong kong.

resident access between the towers

the modularity of the construction system and minimal material weight allows for economic fabrication and flexible transportation. this system can be aggregated across scales, from a four-story rural housing unit to a tower in the city — each time adapting to different ratios of studios, single bedrooms, and family apartments. as a system, the tower unit produces a new typology of residential-living, where daily life is framed with ‘pixels’.

resident access between the towers

plans

translation of horizontal domesticity into a tower

slab stack to tower stack

three basic tower unit types

9-grid module forming 10m x 10m x 10m

infill housing typology

village housing typology

island housing typology

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom