La Bella Vita Residential Tower, Taiwan

International architecture and design firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel (ACPV) has completed residential tower La Bella Vita in the fast-growing 7th District of Taichung, Taiwan. The 128-meter-high tower aims to integrate the character and identity of nearby Charlotte Park, while fostering a dynamic relationship with the surrounding urban context. Located in close proximity to several department stores, civic buildings and cultural venues, the 33,000-sqm high-rise creates a new residential community in the commercial heart of the city, and activates the street level areas with a series of retail spaces.

La Bella Vita is located in the new prime district of Taichung. The area represents a cluster of the city’s high-end housing and service sector developments from the last ten years. The site of the new residential high-rise is situated halfway between the City Hall and the new National Taichung Theater by Toyo Ito. Within its characteristic grid plan, the city of Taichung combines green public spaces and public art in a
unique manner.

The tower is designed as a continuation of the surrounding public spaces. Through the artworks and the green landscape at the foot of the building, La Bella Vita ’s ground floor creates a continuum with the exterior areas. As ACPV’s design for the Treasure Garden residential tower in the same building block, La Bella Vita blends elements of an Italian approach with influences from the East.

The distinct identity of La Bella Vita is expressed by the composition of the building’s seemingly disjoint, yet complementary volumes. Four lower volumes of stacked balconies allude to the materiality of long stretches of rock formations found on the surface of the Earth. They combine with the tallest 37-story amber volume that ties all building masses together, creating a sense of sophisticated playfulness.