The Danish city of Aarhus will soon be home to a piece of modern architecture that is not only striking and distinctive, but elegantly sympathetic to an existing brick water tower that sits nearby. The La Tour apartments will curve around and upwards, ensuring they do not eclipse the historic landmark.
La Tour is designed by 3XN, which has been working on the site for the best part of a decade as part of two separate schemes. Its curving form is reminiscent of some of 3XN's other works, such as the Blue Planet aquarium and the Bella Sky Hotel, both in Denmark, and Grove Towers in Mumbai, India.
An accelerating upwards curve allows the building to minimize the extent to which it obscures the water tower, and provides space for a gradual incline of green terraces. Once clear of the tower, the building swings upwards more sharply into what looks more like a conventional apartment block at one end. Indeed, it will stretch up 95 m (312 ft) and 31 stories to become the tallest residential building in Aarhus.
The lateral semi-circular design of La Tour, meanwhile, affords room for an outdoor green space that remains tucked into and connected to the building. In total, La Tour will cover 22,500 sq m (243,200 sq ft) and will accommodate just shy of 300 apartments.
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