Architect and Builder February/March 2019 | Page 13

ELLIPSE, WATERFALL CITY
dhk recently unveiled its design for a
new residential development comprising
four elliptical towers of differing heights.
Ellipse Waterfall is the first high-rise luxury
apartment development in the heart of
Waterfall City. Covering 45,000m 2 , the
precinct features 590 brand-new apartments
and other amenities including ‘The Luna
Club’, an exclusive multi-concept lifestyle
destination for Ellipse Waterfall’s residents.
area to internal volume. The lack of corners
reduces the visual profile of the buildings
and was identified as the most suitable
form when considering multiple towers in
proximity to one another. Inspired by their
mathematical origins, each tower is named
after some of the world’s most celebrated
scientists, namely, ‘Newton’, ‘Kepler’,
‘Da Vinci’ and ‘Galileo’. Each tower has
an identical footprint; however, the height
of each differs. ‘Newton’ has 10 storeys,
‘Kepler’ has 11 storeys, ‘Da Vinci’ has 13
storeys and ‘Galileo’ has 15 storeys.
The curvilinear façade of the towers is
complemented by a mix of moveable and
fixed screens which serve to animate the
elevations. This produces an ever-changing
collage resulting from the movement of the
sun and the moods of its occupants.
NEWTON
10 FLOORS
The brief from the clients, co-developers
Attacq and Tricolt, was to create a unique
residential complex, including executive
1-bedroom, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and
3-bedroom units as well as multiple
penthouse suites.
In response to the brief, dhk moved away
from the traditional rectangular apartment
block design and decided to take on a more
unconventional form. To make best use
of the property’s unobstructed views, dhk
proposed four separate elliptical towers. The
buildings’ shape takes inspiration from an
ellipse (a mathematical term for a curved
plane surrounding two focal points) which
is highly efficient in terms of ratio of surface
Project Watch
KEPLER
11 FLOORS
DA VINCI
13 FLOORS
MA
R
WA
BA
O
LL
GALILEO
15 FLOORS
OF
AF
RIC
A
AD
KA
MA
GW
A C
NE
TC
RE
AR
SC
EN
RK
LO
OF
CR
ES
T
SIM
E H
OS
running track, active and passive parks,
lap and leisure pools, verdant gardens and
’The Luna Club’ to engage residents and
encourage community activity. At street
level, an elevated forecourt addresses the
most prominent corner where retail spaces
spill out onto the activated street edges
to embrace other users from the broader
Waterfall City community.
The project consists of two phases.
During the first phase, ‘Newton’ and ‘Kepler’
will be built with ‘Da Vinci’ and ‘Galileo’ being
built in the second phase.
LA
K
IV
DR
CE
NT
E
PIT
AL
PARKING ENTRANCE
RETAIL
PIAZZA
THE LUNA CLUB
The towers sit on a raised podium,
creating an elevated ground floor with a
parking garage and services infrastructure
underneath. Extensively landscaped, the
podium level includes a central piazza,
Clients & Developers: Attacq and Tricolt
Quantity Surveyor: Tricolt
Architect and Urban Design: dhk
Project Manager: ECHO
Structural, Civil & Façade
Engineers: Arup
Mechanical Engineers:
Spoormaker & Partners
Electrical Engineers: AFTEK
Sustainability: Solid Green Consulting
Fire Consultant: Zeiler
Landscaping: Green Ink
Interior Design: dhk Thinkspace
Lighting Consultant: Paul Pamboukian
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