Architecture: Sri Lankan apartment block to be world's tallest vertical garden

Clearpoint Residencies, based in Kotte just outside Colombo, will be the first sustainable high-rise apartment complex in the country, with solar panels for electricity generation, a waste water recycling system and planted facades. Building began last year and is expected to be complete by 2016, at which time it is claimed that the building will be, "the tallest residential vertical garden in the world, with planted terraces circling the entire structure."

The completed construction will rise to 46 stories and a planned height of 186 m (610 ft), although Clearpoint Residencies told Gizmag that the final height may yet be increased. Either way, it will surpass that of One Central Park in Sydney when it is complete.

Clearpoint will contain 164 apartments, each with 2300 square-feet (213.68 sq m) of floor space. The apartments are designed to give the residents a sense of ground-level living, as well as privacy and tranquility despite being located in a bustling city.

The planted terraces for each apartment will help to absorb sound, provide shade and cleanse the air by absorbing carbon dioxide. They will be automatically watered using a drip-irrigation system. The water used for the irrigation will be harvested rainwater, recycled bathroom sink and shower water. It will also be used for toilet flushing. These methods of ensuring water usage efficiency will help to reduce intake from the national water supply by an estimated 45 percent.

By increasing the size of the covered terraces and using plants for extra shade, it has been possible to ensure that none of the building's windows will be exposed to direct sunlight, which would have been one of the main causes of heat gain. This means that the size and energy requirements of the air conditioning units are reduced. All of the apartments are also cross-ventilated to provide further cooling.

Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the building and are expected to provide enough energy to power the shared facilities, such as lobby lighting, elevators, the water recycling system and an on-site sewage recycling/treatment system. Any excess electricity that is generated will be sold to the national grid.

"Ultimately, the aim is to create a living space where you can not only feel at one with the environment, but actively contribute towards safeguarding and sustainable use of its resources," says architect Milroy Perera. "The main focus of the apartment will be to provide an atmosphere and sentiment of ground level living."

Source: Clearpoint Residencies