TIPICO BUILDING

The proposal was a direct response to the increasing demand for Class A offices in the St Julians area. The wedge-like design was informed by the site’s particular location next to the iconic Portomaso Tower, flanked by two intersecting slip roads. The structural design faced challenges due to the 5 levels of underlying car park, supermarket and retail facilities. The emerging concept was to create a soft counterpoint to the orthogonality of the Portomaso Tower, whilst leaving an open, light volume and ensuring unobstructed site lines of the two important axes leading to the existing Portomaso Marina and Hilton Hotel.

The envelope of the building is encased in a unique, sail-shaped frame in the form of a diagrid. The double curvature of the diagrid was made possible using stainless-steel pipes, which also function to drain rainwater from all balconies. To balance this high-tech grid, the underside of the balconies are clad in aluminium with a wood texture and feature integrated lighting to further soften and add warmth to the buildings overall image.