studio saxe's passive residential tower with green terraces rises in costa rican urban context

Gardenia vertical building by studio saxe

Studio Saxe introduces Gardenia, its first vertical sustainable building within the suburb of Rohrmoser in San Jose, Costa Rica. Incorporating distinct large terraces and planted areas, the structure brings the typical garden element to vertical construction, increasing the quality of life for inhabitants in built-up cities in the tropics.

The residential tower was developed focusing on passive strategies and sustainability, incorporating automated irrigation systems that use rain and recycled water, as well as orchards with edible plants that the occupants can collect for personal consumption.

image by Elias Porras

large planted terraces

Studio Saxe’s Gardenia takes shape as a concrete structure that utilizes prefabricated techniques, giving the ability to be assembled quickly on-site and thus allowing for the units to remain within a reasonable market value. The tower incorporates large terraces, vegetation, parasols, and many other technologies within a specific market thus bringing the perception of the possible buyers to a new standard.

The terraces of Gardenia are strategically positioned, giving personality to the dwellings. Each apartment gets to have a diverse and interesting relationship with the outside through planted terraces extending from side to side. This ensures privacy from the street, and also protection from the sun and rain.

image by Elias Porras

landscape design & Passive strategies

The landscape design was formed with the intent to complete a sustainable project that brings the wildness of nature to the urban context. The design team has opted for a selection of passive technologies such as water harvesting and strategies like irrigation, plant control, and plant biology. The resulting environment is enhanced with a diverse variety of plants that encourage birds, and threatened species such as bees, to be part of the building and establish a harmonious coexistence with humans.

The passive strategies of Gardenia also focus on temperature control, ensuring that cross ventilation is achieved throughout each apartment. In addition, the large terraces protect from the blazing sun at certain times of the day which are combined with parasols that also allow fractured light to seep through and provide temperature control. Vegetation on every terrace allows for materials to cool down quickly. The plants within the building are irrigated through special filters that collect rain and recycled water used by the dwellers to create a self-sustaining cycle. The common area is located on the second floor which has an orchard with edible plants that the dwellers can collect for personal consumption.

image by Elias Porras

Interior Design

Studio Saxe’s interior design department coordinated all materials, kitchen design, bathroom design, living and communal spaces to be cohesive with the architectural theme of an urban tropical glamorous development. This sustainable and bioclimatic design allowed for the cohesion of materials and colors inside-out that created a harmonious building that seems to be designed by and for people with like-minded interests.

image by Andres Garcia Lachner

image by Andres Garcia Lachner

image by Andres Garcia Lachner

image by Elias Porras

image by Andres Garcia Lachner

image by Elias Porras

image by Andres Garcia Lachner

image by Alessandra Tanzi

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image by Alessandra Tanzi

image by Alessandra Tanzi

image by Elias Porras

image by Andres Garcia Lachner

image by Elias Porras

image by Elias Porras

image by Andres Garcia Lachner

project info: 

name: Gardenia
architecture: Studio Saxe

interior design: Saxe Interior Design
landscape: Saxe Landscape

design director: Benjamin G. Saxe

construction: Prodeyco
structural engineer: Sotela Alfaro LTD
electromechanical engineer: CIEM
location: Rohrmoser, San Jose, Costa Rica
area: 5,544 sqm