The Torre Cube

Catalan architect, Carme Pino has managed to unshackle a modern office block from the burden of energy intensive air conditioning through imaginative passive solar design. Her design positions the offices outside of a space created by three sentral arc-like concrete trunks. The prism-like glass walled and mostly column-free offices have opening windows and are protected from the Mexican sun by the external horizontally slatted wood panneling. This can be easily adjusted by office workers to suite their individual shade of light requirements. An inner void, formed by the trio of curving supports, creates an atrium that brings further natural ventilation up to the narrowest internal profile of the suspended ofices. Additionallt it allows a transfer of more daylight into those central spaces. If craving more air and light, inhabitants can visit open terraces, which also form the roofs of the loweer wedge of offices.