Triptyque proposes plant-covered Tropical Tower for São Paulo
French-Brazilian firm Triptyque Architecture has designed a residential skyscraper covered in vegetation for São Paulo.
Triptyque, which has offices in São Paulo and Paris, proposed the Tropical Tower as part of a 150,000-square-metre masterplan at a university campus in the Brazilian city.
![Tropical Tower by Triptyque Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/07/tropical-tower-tryptique-dezeen-936_reduced.gif)
Shown as a model, the design features balconies and screens that jut out from its form, creating a push-and-pulled effect similar to Herzog & de Meuron's "Jenga tower" in New York.
"The Tropical Tower is defined by its nonlinearity, opposing to the ambient rationality, it is a twist of the architectural body," said the studio.
![Tropical Tower by Triptyque Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/07/square-tropical-tower-by-tryptique_dezeen_936_2.jpg)
The outdoor spaces would be planted with trees and vegetation all the way up the buildings' 150-metre height.
"Each floor provides access to the plants, where the terraces – kind of excrescences – will support trees or even greenhouses, some of them will be used for vegetables growing," Triptyque added.
![Tropical Tower by Triptyque Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/07/tropical-tower-tryptique-photo-ricardo-bassetti_dezeen_936_18.jpg)
Black concrete floor slabs would be visible between glazed external walls, while wooden brise-soleils would be moveable across the facades.
Triptyque's design is one of four towers proposed for the site, which will be connected by bridges and include a mixed program of 400 apartments, a hotel, offices and shops.
![Tropical Tower by Triptyque Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/07/tropical-tower-tryptique-photo-ricardo-bassetti_dezeen_936_19.jpg)
French agencies PCA and Edouard Francois were also invited to work on the scheme.
Triptyque has previously added planted balconies during the revamp a 1970s office block in Rio de Janeiro. The firm's earlier projects in São Paulo include a warehouse converted into an arts space for Red Bull and a stack of creative studios illuminated by a chequerboard of glass blocks.
![Tropical Tower by Triptyque Architecture](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/07/tropical-tower-tryptique-photo-ricardo-bassetti_dezeen_936_13.jpg)
Another studio that frequently design plant-covered structures is Vietnam-based Vo Trong Nghia, which has most recently unveiled a planted city hall for Bac Ninh and a trio of towers shielded with swathes of bamboo.
Photography is by Ricardo Bassetti.