East London’s borough of Islington is evolving into a ‘Tech City’ as many technological and creative industries relocate there.

Canaletto tower by UNStudio highlights the developments in this vibrant residential district and creates a distinct identity for the area by responding to its specific Islington context.

The residential tower features a curvilinear ribbons facade. It clusters several floors together, thereby forming a group of vertical communities that relate closer to the small scale of neighbouring buildings than to a typical high-rise. By ‘scaling down’ the building, they emphasise the intimate residential experience.
 

Description of project by UNStudio

The 22,000m² Canaletto residential tower in London employs the concept of clustering several floors together to establish a group of ‘vertical communities’.

Offering waterside living, the 31-storey tower comprises studios, one and two-bedroom apartments, a variety of three bedrooms and one distinct penthouse with a full rooftop. Canaletto also includes shared amenities such as a swimming pool, health club, media room and resident’s club lounge with a terrace on the 24th floor.

UNStudio's design for the tower, which is located in the London borough of Islington, incorporates the remodeling of the facade, a streamlining of the building’s mass and a contrasting of scale and detail untypical of a residential tower. The facade for the Canaletto tower was designed to emphasise its residential character and to define a distinct ‘Islington’ response.


Ben van Berkel: “The City Road Tower distinguishes itself from buildings in the nearby financial district of the City through variation; through materials, through clusters, through a scale that is appropriate to city streets and through a facade that creates its own residential identity by means of a varied and heterogeneous elevation.”


Clustering
In the design near and distant townscape views are enhanced through scale, detail, and material variation. The proposed building facade creates a modeled elevation in which clusters of adjacent floors are grouped together.
 

Ben van Berkel: "In a residential building, we want residents to really feel like they are part of a unique work of architecture, something that is identifiably theirs. This is why the design of Canaletto really emphasises this clustering of different floors – small communities that are visibly unique from other nearby towers.”


Contrasting materials are employed within each grouping, where the 'outer' smooth metallic element is complemented by an 'inner' use of textured materials. Throughout the building the cluster concept of the facade is designed to maximise levels of transparency and frame the views towards the sky, thereby lending the tower a softer and more nuanced silhouette.

Sustainability
The elevation additionally offers sustainability benefits. The surface modelling creates opportunities for shading, balancing good internal daylight and views with reduced heat gains. The articulation of the facade will additionally reduce wind down drafts and, in combination with canopy proposals at the base of the building, provide an improved pedestrian microclimate.

Balconies
The modelling of the balconies within each grouped cluster lends variability to the facade and the living experience for the residents in the building. As outdoor spaces play a large role in the enjoyment of living environments, the creation of unique, sheltered spaces of high quality was a driver in early design development. The aspect of using both textured and smooth materials contrasts with the expected contemporariness of a typical high-rise metal construction and lends this facade a residential 'twist.'  


Ben van Berkel: “The detailing and contrasting of the materialisation of the façade and the balconies plays a key role in the identity of the building and is in fact borrowed from furniture design. This is an approach which we more typically apply to designs for smaller private houses, however following extensive research into the potential for extending durability and maintenance we were able to create unexpected material variations on a larger scale.”


Shared spaces and amenities Outside of the privacy afforded by the 190 individual living units, the Canaletto tower caters for a variety of collective leisure activities by way of shared amenities where the residents can enjoy healthy leisure pursuits or relax in areas designed for gathering and socialising.

A landscaped garden on Wharf Road provides access to the residential lobby, whilst the ground floor garden frames the entrance lobby and provides a green oasis off the busy City Road. A public restaurant will also be located at the base of the building on City Road.

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Architects
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Ben van Berkel, Wouter de Jonge with Imola Bérczi and Sander Versluis, Aurelie Hsiao, Wing Tang, Nanang Santoso, Derrick Diporedjo, Maud van Hees, Henk van Schuppen, Olivier Yebra, Jan Schellhoff, Fang Huan, Qiyao Li, Perrine Planché,

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Advisors
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Delivery Architect.- Axis Architects. Civil & Structural Engineer.- URS Scott Wilson Ltd. MEP Consultant, Fire Engineer, Acoustics.- Hoare Lea. Façade Engineer.- Buro Happold Ltd. Client Monitor & Employers Agent.- Buro Four. Lead-Consultant/ Architect [Involved up to Planning Submission].- PLP Architecture. Interior Designer.- UNStudio (public/amenity areas), Des Sources (Level 24 Lounge), apartment interiors by Johnson Naylor LLP, Goddard Littlefair and Waldo Works. Landscape Architect.- Churchman Landscape Architects Limited
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Extended Advisor List
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CDM Coordinator & Cost Consultant.- E C Harris LLP. Planning Consultant.- Gerald Eve LLP. CfSH/ Energy Consultant.- Bespoke Builder Services Ltd.
Lighting Specialist: Lighting Design International. Townscape Advisor: Richard Coleman Consultancy. Environmental Statement/ EIA.- URS/ Scott Wilson.
Access Consultant.- David Bonnetts Associates. Traffic & Servicing.- SKM Colin Buchanan. Wind Engineer.- RWDI Anemos Ltd. Gym & Spa Consultant.- Raw Corporate Health Ltd Management Company. Daylight/ Sunlight/ Overshadowing.- eb7 - chartered surveyors and environmental consultants
Surveying.- Greenhatch Group Ltd
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Development Manager
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Groveworld Ltd
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Client
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Orion City Road Trustee Limited
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Venue
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257 City Road, Islington, London, EC1V 1JE UK
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Measures
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Building surface 21,732 m²
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Programme
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31 Storey residential tower, 190 residential units, spa, swimming pool, gym, cinema, resident's lounge, restaurant, cafe, amenity shop, rooftop terrace.
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UNStudio, founded in 1988 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, is a Dutch architectural design studio specialising in architecture, interior architecture, product design, urban development and infrastructural projects. The name, UNStudio, stands for United Network Studio referring to the collaborative nature of the practice.

Throughout 30 years of international project experience, UNStudio has continually expanded its capabilities through prolonged collaboration with an extended network of international consultants, partners, and advisors across the globe. This network, combined with the centrally located offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Frankfurt, enables UNStudio to work efficiently anywhere in the world. With already 120 built projects in Asia, Europe, and North America, the studio continues to expand its global presence with recent commissions in among others China, South-Korea, Qatar, Germany and the UK.

As a network practice, a highly flexible methodological approach has been developed which incorporates parametric designing and collaborations with leading specialists in other disciplines. The office has worked internationally since its inception and has produced a wide range of work ranging from public buildings, infrastructure, offices, residential, products, to urban masterplans.

Current projects include the design for Doha's Integrated Metro Network in Qatar, the mixed-use FOUR development in Frankfurt, the wasl Tower in Dubai and the Southbank by Beulah development in Melbourne. Pivotal realised projects include the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Arnhem Central Station, Raffles City Hangzhou in China, the Mobius House in the Netherlands and the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. UNStudio has received many awards, the last ones being Red Dot Award product design (2013), Media Architecture Award (2012), National Steel Prize (2012) and 28th International Lighting Design Awards Collector’s Loft (2012).

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Published on: November 9, 2017
Cite: "UNStudio Completed The Canaletto Tower in London" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/unstudio-completed-canaletto-tower-london> ISSN 1139-6415
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