Rafael Viñoly Architects centres "transparency and rationality" for Buenos Aires skyscraper
Architecture studio Rafael Viñoly Architects has completed a 16-storey skyscraper in Buenos Aires featuring double-height floors linked by a concrete scissor stair enclosed in glass.
The Vilo Tower office building serves as a headquarters for airport operator Corporación América. It is located along the busy Avenida del Libertador thoroughfare in Buenos Aires, which weaves along the city's coastline.
It stands 60 metres tall at 16 storeys, with a facade made of translucent 7.15 metre by 2.2 metre glass panels.
Its curved corners are free of visible mullions, which "dissolve the interior and exterior boundary", according to Rafael Viñoly Architects.
The building's structural staircase and elevator shaft stand as an exposed spine on the backside, while the glass-enclosed floors extend outwards along its front.
Along its facade, the floors are double-height with a mezzanine level at the centre, while single-storey spaces are tucked towards the back of the building.
According to the studio, the structure is a "hybrid", made up of a traditional concrete structure paired with a "two-storey module" that creates interior flexibility and "spatially varied floor plates".
"In designing Vilo Tower, Rafael Viñoly succeeded in creating an architecture of transparency and rationality," said Rafael Viñoly Architects partner Román Viñoly.
"It elegantly dialogues with its surroundings and gives its occupants the greatest layout flexibility. The way the design reveals its hybrid structural system is a hallmark of our firm's commitment to putting logic at the center of architectural expression."
The building's base was imagined as an "urban greenhouse" and expands three storeys, with the ground floor submerged below street level.
A public restaurant sits below and connects to the main elevator bay via a curving, black-clad spiral staircase, while concrete pillars extend the height of the space.
The remaining floors are outfitted with office space clad in a light wood and black accents, including dark-hued office furniture and textured ceiling and wall panels.
The uppermost floor contains a terrace wrapped in the same double-height glass panels that cover the building, while its ceiling is open to the sky.
The building is aiming for LEED v4 Core and Shell Gold certification.
Rafael Viñoly Architects recently completed a skyscraper in New York City with a similarly exposed concrete core and unveiled plans for a terminal at the Florence Airport in Italy covered in a vineyard.
The studio's founder, Rafael Viñoly, passed away in 2023.
The Uruguayan architect was raised in Buenos Aires and began his career studying architecture at the University of Buenos Aires. He would later go on to open his first office in the city.
"The [Vilo] building marks my father's final contribution to the city that gave him his start as an architect," said his son Román.
The photography is by Daniela Mac Adden
Project credits:
Architect of record and lead designer: Rafael Viñoly Architects
Structural engineer: Curutchet del Villar
MEP / FP engineer: GNBA
Lighting designer: Cappiello + Partners
Construction manager: Amarilla
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