MVRDV has unveiled its first Uruguayan project, combining "urban and suburban lifestyle" in a dense vertical residential tower in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Called Ziel, the 15-storey residential building is envisioned as a "green, social, and porous" dense tower accommodating residents from all ages to enjoy and share.

Designed for developer IXOU, the project is designed in collaboration with executive architect Monoblock. When complete, it will be MVRDV's first project in Uruguay.

Comprised of a loosely-stacked series of individual homes, the design is conceived open and porous to be able to allow light and air and to permeate the entire building, while creating plenty of open and green spaces.

The tower, encompassing a total of 11,000-square-metre area, is located just a block from the ocean on the southern tip of Montevideo, the project occupies a corner lot next to the Villa Biarritz park, which serves as a green heart for the dense Punta Carretas neighbourhood. 

"Thanks to the deep plot and the blind walls of the neighbouring buildings, the design uses a courtyard to ensure that every apartment gets adequate light, and extends the greenery of the park throughout the structure, from the courtyard to the private terraces and shared patios on various levels," said MVRDV. 

The tower, consisting of 40 homes, is shaped around an abundant outdoor green space and the project is envisaged as a stack of country villas embedded in the dense city. 

Each apartment offers a generous balcony or loggia, and according to the studio, the shifting floorplans mean that the 40 homes include a total of ten unique layouts – mostly three bedrooms, as well as one two-bedroom unit on the first floor and four large, four-bedroom corner apartments on the upper levels.

"In Montevideo, like in many other cities, it’s common that once people start a family, they leave – buying a villa in the countryside and reducing the vitality of the city”, says MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs. 

"What if we were able to give them with the villa they want, and keep them in the city at the same time, offering a combination of urban and suburban lifestyle? Here, we attempt to give a prototypical solution to combine the two." 

"With our design, we wanted to show that you can have the spaciousness and nature of the countryside on the tenth floor in the middle of the city”, adds MVRDV partner Frans de Witte. 

"We believe the city should be for everyone, including families with children," De Witte added.

On the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth floors, MVRDV creates shared patios for all the residents of the building, which each create a two-storey open space connecting the street and the courtyard. 

"Filled with plants, these patios help to bring light and fresh air to the deep courtyard, and add visual interest – both for the residents in the inner apartments, who get a view beyond the courtyard, and for pedestrians who see to the inside of the building," the studio continued.

These patios, also dubbed as "sky gardens", will share a common language, as the firm explained. However, each will have a unique character and programme, providing users with spaces for different kinds of activities and unobstructed views of the ocean to the East.

The residential tower will incorporate a wide array of amenities, including a lounge and dining room on the roof, where a shared terrace with lush landscaping and swimming pool are also located, to a gym and spa in the lower levels. 

A restaurant is also located on the ground floor corner to further contribute to the vibrancy of the neighbourhood.

The firm envisions the stack of individual villas as stone blocks in complementary colours, creating a harmonious palette of warm, earthy tones. 

MVRDV uses four different types of stone in the façade to help to differentiate each apartment as its own independent entity, while bronze window frames help to tie together the exterior finishes.

The firm targets LEED-Platinum certification for the project. The tower will have many overhangs to limit solar gain and reduce energy use. Besides, due to the porosity of the structure, the apartments will be easily cooled by using natural ventilation. 

Solar panels will be installed on the roof to contribute towards the energy that the building does use. 

According to the firm, the greenery throughout the building will also help to improve the biodiversity of the neighbourhood, and by installing a water capture and retention system, it will feed into the irrigation for the building’s greenery, aiming to reduce the building’s impact on the local environment.

Villa concept

Design steps

Axonometric drawing

Layouts

Sustainability

Exploded Axonometric square

Exploded Axonometric

MVRDV recently revealed nature-inclusive masterplan for Noviotech Campus in Nijmegen. The firm won a competition to design new Innovation Park Artificial Intelligence Campus in Heilbronn. 

Project facts

Project name: Ziel

Location: Montevideo, Uruguay

Client: IXOU

Size and Programme: 11,000 m2 residential

Architect: MVRDV
Founding Partner in charge: Jacob van Rijs
Partner: Frans de Witte
Design Team: Fedor Bron, Mick van Gemert, Matteo Gramellini, Nicolas Garin Odriozola, Annalot Brockhoff, Ievgeniia Koval, Koji Crisà, Marcos Hurtado
Visualisations: Antonio Luca Coco, Jaroslaw Jeda, Luana La Martina, Stefania Trozzi, Lorenzo D’Alessandro

Partners

Co-architect: Monoblock
Project coordination: MPR
Landscape architect: Ecodesarrollos
Structural engineer: Magnone Pollio Ingenieros Civiles
MEP: ISTEC Ingenieria, Estudio Barbot Rocha, Hofstadter Fregosi y Asociados 

Building physics & Environmental advisor: Petinelli Inc.

All images and drawings © MVRDV.

> via MVRDV 

Monoblock Montevideo MVRDV tower