'vertical city' by venezualean architectural firm desitecture is a proposal situated on 23 de enero caracas, venezula - which was originally designed to become a mass housing block for residents to live and work in. on january 23rd, 1958, when the dictator president jimenez was ousted following a military coup. masses of homeless and lower class citizens flooded into the tower and it has since become known as 23 de enero. to cope with the threat of eviction the residents became more organised and networks of exchange and communication formed within the towers which became self contained micro communities.
as the area on which the tower is constructed, is that of slums, this gives value to previously worthless land. the stakeholders now have options either to move out of the slums and reside in a new unit within the tower in its emerging micro economic community whilst deriving an income from their share in the land development or to relocate altogether, somewhere new. although this would have the effect of breaking up the established community. the tower releases land, provides work and acts as a negotiator for an engagement with capital. the city gains a new quarter providing fresh produce and enhanced transport links and facilities, to a new economic zone.
the three cups, define distinct user groups and activities, which are nonetheless related, typically they could contain college level activity, university and research economy business; or retail, hotel, apartments; or social housing, local administration and offices. the tower has all the elements of work, leisure, home and a sense of place in one entity. access to and from the tower takes many forms,
cable car, helicopter, water taxi car or metro. bars, cafes and restaurants should flourish in such a climate, taking their cue from many roof top venues. the tower it is hoped will become a destination in its own right with 24hr zones of activity.
the 180 storey tower's structure bears a strong relationship to the folded spoon analogy, with the bowl being the elliptical lagoon and the shaft and vertical legs supporting the cups. the tower appears to be a twisting cantilever, but is in fact a simple structure, with only the top cup having a cantilevered element. the main support are the vertical and diagonal structural frame containing circulation and services this runs through all the cups and in the first forty five storey's supports the palette shaped overlapping gardens and city farms.
beneath the tower are four levels of vehicular access and parking covering an expansive area, which incorporates the piled structural legs and the diagonal main composite core, which grows into the structure of the lagoon, acting as a tabilizing counterweight to the tower. the inner structure of the cups is a diagonal structural grid into which the wheatsheaf pattern of woven individual units
