Metropolis tower and the park’s landscaping is a city within a city, sustain pedestrian activity and establish a sense of community. AEC’s team designed this mixed-use complex rises out of an urban garden to establish a community park, apartments, a hotel, entertainment venues, offices and retail spaces.
The architecture evokes regional landmarks and a sense of wonder, the site is east of the Bassac River, provided natural design inspiration. The orientation and organization of each space is based on using directional alignments to achieve harmony and the universal flow of energy.

The contemporary tower is designed as a finely detailed structure that blends sustainability with natural and cultural references. The building integrate glass, stone, screens and intricate metal detailing, to form contextual textures and patterns. Composed of a series of fins, the unitized curtain wall offers the building’s perimeter maximum daylight and will also incorporate cavities to facilitate natural ventilation and a smart management system that will monitor the building conditions. The design of the tower facades is divided into double-skin modules and fins elements that are angled away from direct solar exposure. The facades are enriched and shaded by a series of perforated aluminum and laminated glass fins. The frame views of the building create a patterns of color which reflect the brown, orange, blue, green and grey of the surrounding environments.
At street level, a community park embodies the fluidity of a river, connects the site and provide pedestrian access to the nearby residential and retail districts. The design invites the public into the heart of the building, at the base an atrium connecting the buildings features signature retail and entertainment attractions opening to the street. For the hotel and residential areas, a bank of elevators at the base of the tower transports visitors to sky lobbies where they can take another set of elevators to their destinations.

The tower is a solid geometric structure with randomizing facade system faces, and a vertical series of vertical fins, fuse to create a building that commands attention among the surrounding. The sleek architectural vision create a tower that integrates energy efficiency and sustainability. The development area is connected by a dynamic street-scale retails path that flows between the north-east main-road to the southwest commercial districts.
The building’s efficient middle core and rectangular post tension floor slabs provide a column-free interior environment with separate entrance and elevator bank that reflects its office, residential or hotel functions.
Combined with a triple high public atrium, interior space are carved out to provide green spaces on upper levels. The terraces are designed as a continuation of the surrounding park spaces located around the project site, and direct links to an underground parking network. The interior reinforce the architectural concept through use of similar materials and rhythms to create a harmonious environment. The upper section of the tower features a fragmented pattern on the facade, providing a dramatic lantern effect at night. From other perspectives, the elegant tower appears to dissolve into the surrounding Cambodian sky. Metropolis tower is placed to preserve sunlight in the park, maximize permeability, encourage connectivity for pedestrians, cyclists and maximize visual porosity.

2022

Site Area: 55000 sqm
Gross Built Area: 3150 sqm
Project location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Client: Private

Project leader: Alessandro Mangano
Design team: Fawaz Farook, Van Vanndeth, Stephen Heng
Integrated Design: Architectural Engineering Consultants
Renderings credits: AEC