V Tower

The basic strategy in the design of the building led to the minimisation of the volume and lightening of the object. The building mass was divided into a pair of towers. Both towers are connected by a neck at two-thirds height. From this height level, the towers continue separately whereby\ each of them has a separate vertical axis, composition and identity. The towers mutually draw apart and attract each other. The male and female principle. Tension is generated between the towers - dialogue. The mass expanding upwards is usually the most lucrative space and the narrowing downwards minimises the ground appropriation and releases space for trees and the pedestrian partere, which freely runs under the building. This recessing moreover created continuous loggia - terraces around the perimeter of the building, which clearly indicate residential function. The arrangement of the ceiling tiles vertically in combination with the various slanting and receding masses of the towers shall simply change optically in relation to the distance of the observer and will always create interesting building graphics. All the 120 flats from small studios to large apartments and four storey penthouses with own gardens and swimming pools on the roof are designed in a freely merging space. Above the ground floor, below the 3rd floor is a block with gym and swimming pool for the residents. The ground floor is taken up by only vertical cores and the reception desk, the rest of the area consists of park greenery. As the first residential project in europe, v tower, prague aspires to win leed platinum certification, which is the most stringent set of requirements for human comfort, sustainability and efficiency.

The V-Tower’s construction area in Prague was limited by the surrounding residential and commercial buildings, thus leaving only a relatively small area available for the new building. Nevertheless, this limited space was optimally used; the building of 30 storeys splits into two separate towers after about a third of its height, so that plenty of space remains available for the 120 flats. Additionally, the building’s resulting V-form gives it an extraordinary urban architectural character. The design’s underlying idea is the letter “V” with its upward opening. It stands symbolically for openness, optimism, fortune and peace.

An exclusive building shell – thanks to heroal “made in Germany” quality

In order to underline the symbolism of “V”, particular emphasis was given to transparency. This goal was achieved, using over 1,700 sophisticated, production-optimised heroal elements from the heroal S 77 SL lifting-sliding system and the heroal W 72 window system. Since numerous custom-made units were required, due to both shapes and dimensions, and stringent demands for quality, design and technical detail had to be adhered to, the Sipral a. s. metalworking company made a conscious choice for heroal as a system supplier: “Not every manufacturer in the industry has the capacity to reliably realise such complicated projects, or to satisfy our stringent requirements. For this reason, we made a deliberate choice for the innovative family-owned heroal company, which provides outstanding “made in Germany” quality,” states Leopold Bares, Chairman at Sipral a. s. heroal is the sole manufacture in the sector to have its own, in-house, state-of-the-art profile bending and folding service. Additionally, heroal’s in-house, highly weather resistant surface coating ensures long-term, top-quality colour stability, gloss retention, and durability against weathering. Particular attention was paid to technical aspects - given the unusual design and the building’s height, construction had to achieve specified wind load resistance rating class C3 and water tightness 8A. Windows and lifting-sliding elements were also required to achieve a noise insulation rating of up to 39 dB, thermal insulation of 1.5 W/m²K, and class 4 air permeability. This posed no problem for heroal – the heroal W 72 and heroal S 77 SL systems exceed these requirements.