Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Photo © Hufton+Crow
Balconies typology
Drawing © UNStudio
Program stacking diagram
Drawing © UNStudio
Facade diagram
Drawing © UNStudio

Canaletto Tower

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Location
257 City Road, Islington, London, Great Britain
Year
2017
Client
Orion City Road Trustee Limited
Team
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
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
Landscape Architect
Churchman Landscape Architects Limited
Interior Designer (public/amenity areas)
UNStudio
Interior Designer (Level 24 Lounge)
Des Sources
Interior Designer (apartment interiors)
Johnson Naylor LLP, Goddard Littlefair and Waldo Works

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.

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.

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.'

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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