Sky River is a building with flowing forms that emulates the flowing water of the Tamsui River, providing a distinctive and impactful architecture for the Bali district of Taipei City.
Sky River is located in the Bali District of Taipei (Taiwan), a privileged area due to its proximity to the Tamsui River and important natural sites such as the Guanyin Mountain Yinghanling. The area has many nautical amenities, including a private mooring for the users of the residential complex. A new riverfront is being developed in this area with numerous urban development projects, with the aim of having a new axis of communication parallel to the river that runs through the whole district. Taking into account the existing characteristics of the site and its great future projection, the aim of the developer, Zhuhe Architecture, was to create a unique residential landmark, providing a differentiating and impactful architecture for the surroundings.
The building has a total height of 70 m (ground floor + 18 floors), but without a doubt, the differentiating fact of the building is its curved adaptation to give a view of the river to all the units of the complex, as well as to the common areas. The building’s program consists mainly of luxury flats and service areas that future owners will be able to enjoy. Highlights include a lounge bar-restaurant on the ground floor, a gymnasium on the roof floor, games areas, and a sky garden on the top floor with multifunctional rooms for social events.
The interior facade was decided to be as glazed as possible to create the sensation of floating above the Tamsui River. On the ground floor, the flats have a vertical communication core, allowing access to each of the units through a distribution corridor. Another characteristic is the location of the bathrooms, which are located close to the facade, but with glazed partitions, allowing a visual connection with the river. The facade is composed of fluid forms, with a “vertical ribbon,” a glass railing that liberates the facade facing the river to give maximum visual permeability, and a “horizontal ribbon” that collects all the structural elements of the different floors.
Life is a journey
In the following video, we can see the privileged position of the building within the Bali district, its direct connection to the water of the Tamsui River, and its proximity to the ecologically important natural sites.
Presentation of the “Sky River” project
Eduardo Gutiérrez (co-founder of ON-A) had the opportunity to present the Sky River to the media at the opening of the building. He talked about the design process and what inspired ON-A in its conceptual development: “We believe that architecture should improve the lives of the people who live in it, and every decision we make is guided by that principle.”
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