The Aleph

Foster + Partners goes Buenos Aires: the Aleph residence is the first project in Latin America by the London-based architectural practice. The residence is based on an existing building in the former docks of Puerto Madero, an area that is reinventing itself as a young, dynamic district of Buenos Aires. In their design, Foster + Partners combined local architecture with modern features that are entirely in keeping with the natural topography. The design combines natural, wooden balustrades with modern bronze and stone elements to create an exciting building complex. Duravit furnished the bathrooms in the luxury apartments with products from the D-Code bathroom programme and from the Bathroom Foster series of ceramics, designed by Lord Norman Foster. Comprising a series of three mixed-use residential schemes, the project combines private residential areas with outdoor living, nature, art and culture: large courtyards and terraces create a public space offering individual areas of retreat. With sustainability a key factor, the architectural practice adapted the project to the local climate, as well as to the intense sunlight. Each façade has moveable sun screens in order to protect the residential units from the sun at different times of the day. The floor-to-ceiling window in each apartment is framed by a projecting concrete façade at both top and bottom. This, in turn, curves upwards in a honeycomb-like structure in order to allow warm air to circulate, so cooling the inside and outside of the building. The vaulted ceilings in the residential units echo the structure of the external façade.