DC Tower 1

The tower is the result of an international competition held in 2002 for the last remaining plot of a new business district by the river. For the architect, its delivery closed a long process, from the open potential of the first sketches to the fine tuning of the last details on site, magnified here by the extreme visibility of the building.

Designed as a pair, the towers stand on a shared platform, turned slightly toward the river to open a dialogue with the rest of the city and turning their back on neither its historic nor its new parts. The folds of the facade give the tower a liquid, immaterial quality, constantly shifting with the light.

Inside, the exposed concrete frame can be touched, and stone and metal in the lobbies and circulation spaces give the tower a generous, reassuring physical presence.

Particular care went into the base. On the rear facade, public space climbs from the level of the esplanade in a series of staggered steps up to the ground plane. On the other three sides, metal umbrellas gradually rise from the ground on the approach, softening the eruption of the tower and drawing the city into it.